UAH 15 million per year – this is approximately how much technical hemp producers will be able to save thanks to the deregulation of the industry. This is made possible by draft law No. 7457 approved by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, which is currently awaiting signature of the President.
Technical hemp with a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content of no more than 0.08% can still be produced in Ukraine today. However, only the stem and seeds of the plant are allowed to be used in production. Paper for banknotes, ropes, protein, oil, fabrics, construction materials, disposable dishes, fuel briquettes are made from them.
Due to strict regulation, technical hemp is now essentially equated with narcotic substances. So, as of the end of 2023, there were only 7 factories for the primary processing of industrial hemp in Ukraine. For comparison, in the USSR times, there were 36 such plants on the territory of Ukraine.
The new law will allow the cultivation of technical hemp with a THC level of 0.3%. This has a significant impact on the industry’s investment attractiveness and increasing the income of enterprises, says Iryna Gruzinska, head of the agricultural sector of the BRDO. Read more about how the new law will affect the development of the prospective market in the Deutsche Welle Ukraine article (in Ukrainian).
The BRDO team has been working on the deregulation of the technical hemp market for several years. Read more on why it is promising not only for agrarians, but also for Ukrainian industry in general, especially in the conditions of war, in our previous publication.