Canada hemp business

The regulations define industrial hemp as “cannabis plants whose leaves and flowering heads do not contain more than 0.3% THC.” Any part of the plant identified in Schedule 2 of the proposed Cannabis Act, such as a non-viable seed or mature stalk without any leaf, flower, seed or branch, would fall outside the scope of the proposed Act. As such, activities related to these plant parts (such as their processing or sale) would not require a licence under the proposed Act. Further, as is currently the case under the Industrial Hemp Regulations, a licence would not be required for the sale of derivatives of seed and grain that contain 10 micrograms per gram of THC or less. Canada hemp business

The Cannabis Act and the new industrial hemp license set out clear guidelines for hemp. The Cannabis Act clears the way for whole hemp plant utilization. Industrial hemp licenses would authorize the intra-industry sale of leaves, flowers and branches (or the whole plant). That means licensed industrial hemp producers can sell the flower to someone who has permits to process and sell CBD.

Canada’s Commercial Hemp Industry

Canada’s commercial hemp industry is fairly new: Canada began to issue licenses for research crops in 1994, followed by commercial licenses starting in 1998. Since hemp cultivation was legalized in Canada, production has been variable year to year but generally increasing – which some attribute to increased import demand in the United States. Acreage has ranged from 48,000 planted acres in 2006 to about 8,000 acres in 2008, rising again to 100,000 acres in 2014 but then sharply dropping back again to 33,000 acres in 2016. In 2017, acreage in hemp cultivation and production rose sharply – reaching a record of nearly 140,000 acres. Hemp CBD financial model

According to Health Canada, 54,941 acres of industrial hemp were planted in 2020 comparing to 92,465 acres in 2019. Canadian farmers planted about 60,000 acres of industrial hemp in 2021 and 45,000 in 2022.

The number of cultivation licenses has also varied from year to year, reaching a high of 560 licenses in 2006, followed by a low of 77 licenses in 2008 and rising to 340 licenses in 2011. Since then, the number of licenses has risen to 711 (1,226 total industrial hemp licenses) issued in 2018, 731 (866) in 2019, 1,091 (1,270) in 2020 and 903 licenses for cultivation (1,050) in 2021.