Paper for currency notes, the strongest ropes and gunpowder are made from technical hemp. Their global market is currently estimated by experts at more than $4 billion and has a high potential for development. It is promising not only for farmers, but also for Ukrainian industry in general, especially in wartime conditions.
BRDO supports initiatives related to the legalization of these crops and emphasizes the importance of legalizing medical and technical cannabis.
What is the problem with the technical hemp market?
Currently, the production of hemp in Ukraine urgently needs deregulation and updating of the legal framework. This was emphasized by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi during his last speech in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
- The market is controlled simultaneously by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Medical Service and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, and should, like any agricultural crop, be subordinated to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.
- Currently, in Ukraine, it is legally allowed to grow technical hemp with a content of the psychoactive component THC up to 0.08%, although in Europe, the USA, Canada and China, this indicator is 0.3%.
- The Ministry of Internal Affairs issues a permit for the use of facilities and premises intended for activities related to the circulation of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors, including technical hemp, and controls the areas of crops.
- The State Medical Service issues a license for the cultivation of plants included in the List of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Precursors, which, again, includes technical hemp.
- The State Medical Service sets annual quotas for the cultivation of plants that contain narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, which extend to technical hemp.
What will help the market of technical hemp in Ukraine to develop?
Technical cannabis is not a drug.
It is a common agricultural crop whose cultivation and processing cannot be subject to strict regulatory instruments.
Farmers’ interest in this market is due to the high profitability and price of hemp products. Revision of state regulatory instruments will make this market attractive for investment in Ukraine.
Since 2020, BRDO has been working on a study of the technical hemp market in Ukraine, which resulted in the Green Paper “Technical Hemp Market” and work on deregulation legislative initiatives.
We continue to develop regulatory changes designed to minimiіe pressure on this market. Preserving traditional Ukrainian production, using innovative approaches, is more relevant today than ever. We call to restore the domestic economy together, in particular, through the development of entrepreneurship in the countryside and the production of products with high added value, in particular from technical hemp.