The cannabis industry has gained importance in recent years in the Latin American territory. By 2014, Uruguay was the first country to establish a robust regulatory framework to guarantee access to cannabis at the national level and therefore, events like this are opening the expectations of new markets with cannabis in Latin America.
(President Petro proposes to extend the legalization of marijuana).
This is what the report revealed Global Cannabis from New Frontier Data, where the crucial performance that has consolidated the production and commercialization of the TCH flower (cannabis flower) in the national industries is exposed.
And, although the characteristics of each market depend on the regulations of each country, in the case of Colombia, the Congress of the Republic issued Law 1787 of July 6, 2016, where “The regulatory process for the manufacture, use of seeds and cultivation of cannabis for medicinal and scientific purposes was completed.” However, recreational use is not yet legal in the country.
According to the report, Colombia is positioning itself as a world supplier and exporter of cannabis derivatives, since low cultivation costs, ideal growth conditions and experience in certified crops act as a catalyst for the industry in the country.
(The first medical cannabis phytotherapeutic laboratory is launched).
According to New Frontier Data, by 2021, there were 1.5 million cannabis users in the country. Likewise, total spending in the industry has been $709.7 million and the average annual consumption rate reaches 3.8%. For its part, the firm calculated the average price per gram (flower), which it estimated at $2.66 and compared to patients treated with medical cannabis, the figure is 11,382.
NATIONAL MARKET
Although in the local cannabis market, the industry has received little attention, according to the report, the firm made an estimate of cannabis sales as legal medicine in Colombia, where the results showed that, in 2020, the trade of the plant left profits of US$3.5 million, followed by the estimate for 2021, where the figure would reach US$8.8 million. For 2022, the estimate continued to trend upwards, reaching US$13.2 million.
Estimates for the following years showed that, in 2023, the sale of cannabis would be around US$16.7 million, while by 2024 the figure would rise to US$20.2 million. Finally, the estimate for 2025 would reach $23.5 million.
For his part, Jaime Price, general manager of Yuluka Health Colombia, assures that solid relationships are being built with Europe, where CBD Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Yuluka Health, will export between 50 and 100 million seeds to the European market.
(This is the decree that regulates the export of dried cannabis flower).
“We found good clients, with whom we are going to start our production, and where the agreement is not only going to be transactional in terms of money, but they also gave us genetics to produce excellent quality seed,” he claimed.
In this sense, regarding the approval of the licenses, manager Price stated that “We arrived at a good time, because from our company almost everything is now open for medicinal use and the only thing missing is the legalization of cannabis for recreational use”.
For his part, President Gustavo Petro, in the framework of the summit of mayors of the Pacific, referred to the legalization of cannabis for recreational use, where he said, “What happens if cannabis is legalized in Colombia without licenses? How to plant corn, how to plant potatoes”. Likewise, The possibilities of the cannabis industry not only translate into human or animal consumption, but also into research.
According to Carlos Calderon, general manager at Cannabian Pharma, the delivery of certifications allows “A great possibility opens up for the country to become a leader in scientific research of medicines based on this substance for veterinary use in the rest of the world.”
DIANA K. RODRIGUEZ T.
