China Now Cultivates More Than Half of the World’s Legal Hemp
Rachelle Gordon
September 5th, 2017
News
China is responsible for the export of trillions of dollars worth of goods of all types across the globe. Clothing, electronics, furniture, and machinery are some of the country’s biggest exports, but there’s one thing that China could soon bring to the rest of world that you may not expect: cannabis.
According to a recent article in the South China Morning Post, the Asian superpower now cultivates more than half of the globe’s legal hemp. The plant is easy to grow throughout the varying climates of China, from frostier areas around Mongolia to the subtropical provinces near Bangladesh and Myanmar. It’s also extremely valuable, fetching more than 10,000 yuan ($1,500) per hectare, which is far more than other traditional crops such as corn and soybeans.
China does have a hardline approach when it comes to cannabis containing THC (possessing more than five kilos can get you the death sentence), but officials have largely turned a blind eye to farmers growing plants containing less than 0.3 percent THC (considered an international threshold). In some areas, such as Yunnan province, the cultivation of cannabis is now regulated. Law enforcement are afraid to shut down any illegal grow operations because of potential protests by farmers who rely on the cash crop to feed their families.
The boom in the number of farmers beginning to cultivate cannabis has been attributed to China’s research and development of the plant, something that began in the late 1970s when the country went to war with Vietnam. At the time, the government was interested in the potential hemp had as a breathable, antimicrobial fabric for military uniforms, as well as its potential medical benefits. After this extensive research, China now holds more than half of the over 600 cannabis-related patents in the world.
Analysts are wondering if China is ahead of the game in their R&D of cannabis, and if they will use their massive amounts of IP to their advantage. As the United States and Canada begin clinical trials of cannabis medicines for epilepsy, MS, and other illness, China may already have similar drugs already trademarked.
“Because cannabis in Western medicine is becoming accepted, the predominance of Chinese patents suggests that pharmaceutical sciences are evolving quickly in China, outpacing Western capabilities,” said Dr. Luc Duchesne, of InvestorIntel. “[Chinese traditional medicine] is poised to take advantage of a growing trend. The writing’s on the wall: westernised Chinese traditional medicine is coming to a dispensary near you.”
In another sign of changing times, the People’s Liberation Army recently teamed with Beijing-based Hemp Investment Group to create a drug used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The military is currently conducting final stage trials of the medication with promising results. If and when the drug goes to market, it could put China at the forefront of the so-called “Green Rush.”
Tan Xin, president of Hemp Investment Group, believes that cannabis will, “grow into a 100 billion yuan industry for China in five years’ time.” The PTSD drug being developed is only one of many potential products for the global market, according to the firm’s website. Hemp Investment Group intends to bring cannabis to all member countries in China’s “Belt and Road Initiative”, an infrastructure scheme to link China with the rest of Asia and beyond. They already have offices in the United States and are about to open in Canada, Japan, Israel, and several European countries.
Like many other industries, the legal cannabis market is becoming a rat race with countries across the world fighting for a place at the top. While most analysts are paying attention to the multi-billion dollar pot businesses emerging in the United States and Canada, China’s massive hemp industry will most certainly enter the global stage sooner than later, potentially influencing the rest of the international market.
To learn more about international cannabis markets, sign up for our free newsletter using the form to the right.
This article was published by CFN Enterprises Inc. (OTCQB: CNFN), owner and operator of CFN Media, the industry’s leading agency and digital financial media network dedicated to the burgeoning CBD and legal cannabis industries. Call +1 (833) 420-CNFN for more information.
Network Partners
About CFN Media Group
CFN Enterprises Inc. (OTCQB: CNFN) owns and operates CFN Media Group, the premier agency and financial media network reaching executives, entrepreneurs and consumers worldwide. Through its proprietary content creation, video library, and distribution via www.CannabisFN.com, CFN has built an extensive database of cannabis interest, assisting many of the world’s largest cannabis firms and CBD brands to build awareness and thrive. For more information, please visit www.cfnenterprisesinc.com.
Disclaimer: Matters discussed on this website contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, may from time-to-time have a position in the securities mentioned herein and will increase or decrease such positions without notice. The Information contains forward-looking statements, i.e. statements or discussions that constitute predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, estimates, or projections as indicated by such words as "expects", "will", "anticipates", and "estimates"; therefore, you should proceed with extreme caution in relying upon such statements and conduct a full investigation of the Information and the Profiled Issuer as well as any such forward-looking statements. Any forward looking statements we make in the Information are limited to the time period in which they are made, and we do not undertake to update forward looking statements that may change at any time; The Information is presented only as a brief "snapshot" of the Profiled Issuer and should only be used, at most, and if at all, as a starting point for you to conduct a thorough investigation of the Profiled Issuer and its securities and to consult your financial, legal or other adviser(s) and avail yourself of the filings and information that may be accessed at www.sec.gov, www.pinksheets.com, www.otcmarkets.com or other electronic sources, including: (a) reviewing SEC periodic reports (Forms 10-Q and 10-K), reports of material events (Form 8-K), insider reports (Forms 3, 4, 5 and Schedule 13D); (b) reviewing Information and Disclosure Statements and unaudited financial reports filed with the Pink Sheets or www.otcmarkets.com; (c) obtaining and reviewing publicly available information contained in commonlyknown search engines such as Google; and (d) consulting investment guides at www.sec.gov and www.finra.com. You should always be cognizant that the Profiled Issuers may not be current in their reporting obligations with the SEC and OTCMarkets and/or have negative signs at www.otcmarkets.com (See section below titled "Risks Related to the Profiled Issuers, which provides additional information pertaining thereto). For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice and that of their own professional advisers. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, may be compensated for its Services in the form of cash-based and/or equity-based compensation in the companies it writes about, or a combination of the two. For full disclosure, please visit: https://www.cannabisfn.com/legal-disclaimer/. A short time after we acquire the securities of the foregoing company, we may publish the (favorable) information about the issuer referenced above advising others, including you, to purchase; and while doing so, we may sell the securities we acquired. In addition, a third-party shareholder compensating us may sell his or her shares of the issuer while we are publishing favorable information about the issuer. Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this article contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority, and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, may from time to time have a position in the securities mentioned herein and will increase or decrease such positions without notice. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice and that of their own professional advisers. CFN Media Group, which owns CannabisFN, may be compensated for its Services in the form of cash-based and/or equity- based compensation in the companies it writes about, or a combination of the two. For full disclosure please visit: https://www.cannabisfn.com/legal-disclaimer/.
Copyright © Accelerize Inc. · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy · Legal Disclaimer