Pakistan plans to replace cotton with technical hemp

Considering the fact that the cultivation of industrial hemp was traditional for our country, and cotton is not grown in Ukraine, it is worth paying attention to the trends in the textile raw materials market in order to create closed chains of production of textile / knitted goods based on national, not imported raw materials ... 

On the pages of the specialized electronic edition of Ukrainian cannabis growers, more than once attention has been focused on the fact that in a number of Asian countries programs are being implemented to replace industrial cotton crops with industrial hemp. The leader of this kind of “substitution” is rightfully China, which is actively growing industrial crops of industrial hemp in the southern regions of the country, where traditionally exclusively cotton was grown. Similar programs are being implemented on their territory by Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and a number of other countries that are traditionally exporters of raw cotton. That is why the conditions created by another country, which until recently specialized in growing cotton to replace it with industrial crops of technical hemp, should be of interest to the national producer of the fibrous part of the plant, as well as to its processors.

Pakistani Federal Minister of Science and Technology Chaudhry Fawad Hussein said during a conversation with reporters that agricultural enterprises for the production of technical hemp are being created in Jelum, Peshawar, Chakwala and Islamabad, stressing that the plant is an alternative to cotton, and its production will bring huge benefits to the economy of the Islamic Republic. Mr. Chaudhry drew media attention to the fact that the federal cabinet has approved the first license for the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Pakistan Scientific and Industrial Research Council for the industrial and medical use of hemp, which could lead to the "launch" of a multi-billion dollar market in the country modern cannabis production.

Commentary of specialists of the Association "Ukrainian technical hemp"

From one hectare of industrial planting, industrial hemp can yield three times as much cotton with a faster growth time (an average of 90 to 100 days, compared to 150-180 days for cotton). In addition, the cultivation of industrial hemp does not require a huge amount of water, pesticides, herbicides, and other preparations used in the course of growing cotton. Fabrics made from hemp fibers are stronger and more durable. In addition to using the fibrous part of the plant for the production of textiles / knitwear or footwear, hemp fiber is actively used for the production of twisted products, in construction, the production of cellulose, biocomposite materials, etc. We can say that given the versatility of the methods of using hemp fiber in various sectors of modern farming, the creation of closed chains for the industrial use of industrial hemp fibers in the last few years has been a trend in the global hemp market. In particular, about 10 industrial sites are being actively created in the United States, which in the future will specialize specifically in the cultivation of industrial crops of industrial hemp, as well as the processing of the fibrous part of the plant. Several of the above industries are created in those administrative-territorial units of the United States, where traditionally, until then, exclusively cotton was grown.

Considering the fact that the crops of technical hemp were traditional for our country, and cotton is not grown in Ukraine, it is worth paying attention to the trends in the market of textile / knitted materials in order to create closed chains of production of textile / knitted products based on the national, and not imported raw materials. The issues related to the technologies of using the therapeutically active elements of hemp, which are contained in the fibrous part of the plant, will be substantively considered during the round table " Problems and prospects for the use of therapeutically active elements of hemp as a basis for nutraceuticals, medicinal cosmetics, animal feed or other products with healing plant properties ", which will be held for the students of the" Hemp University ".