Why cannabis farmers in Portugal consider it a failure for business 2019
The inconsistency in the work of two government agencies in licensing the cultivation of technical hemp not only leads to a delay in the development of national hemp breeding in Portugal, but also creates opportunities for Canadian companies to use this situation for promotion in the Portuguese market .
Most Portuguese farmers who grow cannabis say that they have already lost the growing season of 2019 due to the ongoing “jurisdictional” confusion between the two government agencies involved in licensing this type of activity.
The problem arose when the Ministry of Agriculture of Portugal in January 2019 published an explanation stating that all permits related to cannabis should be considered by the Portuguese health regulator, whose main powers lie in the plane of pharmaceutical products and controlled substances.The explanation came after the adoption of the new law on medical cannabis in August 2018, which established the rules for calculating the value-added tax, as well as the rules regarding the cultivation, commercial production of drugs, wholesale trade, distribution in pharmacies, import, export, transit, etc. The new law in conjunction with the above explanation actually implies that farmers who grow technical cannabis must undergo the same strict licensing regime as in the cultivation of psychoactive cannabisa. The departmental organizations "bounce" the farmers one to another, because it remains unclear to the end which government agency should give permission for sowing, including certification of seed.
In the past two years, Portuguese farmers could obtain licenses under a simplified procedure, providing the State Food and Veterinary Administration with information on the allocation of land used for growing cannabis, as well as the estimated dates of sowing and harvesting. This year, the discrepancy in the work of government departments threatens to destroy the established business relationships of farms with customers of hemp products. The image of companies is falling, contracts are terminated, and customers make purchases outside of Portugal. At the same time, some manufacturers of cannabis are trying to circumvent legislation, others are going to defend their rights in court, but on the whole the issue remains open and unresolved.
Commentary of the Association "Ukrainian technical hemp"
The world market for hemp is characterized by very high growth and fierce competition. The confusion in the work of the two government departments not only leads in a certain sense to a delay in the development of hemp breeding in the country, but also creates opportunities for Canadian companies to take advantage of this situation, and their reaction to promoting their interests in the Portuguese market has been immediate.
At the moment, two large Canadian companies specializing in the cultivation / processing cannabisa have launched their activities in Portugal. In January 2019, Canadian ICC International Cannabis Corp. agreed to acquire a 100% stake in Portuguese Enigma Unipessoal Lda. An Ontario-based medical cannabisa Tilray company has announced plans to invest in the cultivation and processing of this crop in the amount of € 20 million after it received permission to import and grow seeds and clones of hemp plants.
The situation described for growing cannabisa in Portugal for our country's konoplevod should serve as a good example of how administrative restrictions imposed by state officials who do not understand the issue can worsen the position of national producers not only internationally but also on the domestic market.