Cannabis growers and producers in B.C. are looking to enter—or expand their exports to—the German market following the country’s marijuana decriminalization law, which took effect April 1.
Due to export restrictions, Canadian companies are not allowed to export recreational cannabis products globally, but many have been selling medical cannabis products to countries including Germany, which has a population of more than 84 million and is Europe’s largest economy. “The medical cannabis market in Germany is expected to grow very exponentially.… That is probably the change that will have the biggest positive impact on cannabis cultivators, growers and businesses in Canada and B.C.”
“There’s a lot of interest now with the market in Germany. People are pretty excited,” said Philip Campbell, CEO of Herbal Dispatch. He said he is going to a cannabis conference in Germany later this month with the aim of securing some export deals. The company plans to sell to the market in the second half of 2024.B.C. cannabis companies are well positioned to take advantage of the opportunity for a much larger medical cannabis market in Germany, according to Anand.
Canada is already the largest exporter of medical cannabis to Germany. A total of 2,882 kilograms of cannabis oil and flower were exported to Germany from Canada in the first half of 2021. This was 45 per cent more than the amount delivered by the Netherlands—the second-largest exporter of cannabis products to Germany, according to Statista data released last June.