Cannabis flower exports from Colombia are set to begin following the recent approval of guidelines by government regulators. Last week, the nation’s Ministries of Justice, Agriculture and Commerce issued joint resolution 539 of 2022, which establishes regulations for the international trade of cannabis products including flower, seeds, plants, derivatives and plant components.
Last summer, the Colombian government announced that it would permit the nation’s fledgling cannabis industry to export cannabis flower for medical and other industrial purposes. President Ivan Duque
that “Colombia is today at the forefront with the regulation of the use of medicinal cannabis and its derivations from industrial uses.”“This means Colombia can enter to play a big role in the international market,”
, noting that the decree also allows the cannabis industry to expand into other areas including cosmetics, foods and beverages.Under the joint resolution approved by the Colombian government on April 1, licensed cannabis cultivators that have been issued export quotas will be required to pass a mandatory approval process for the export of THC and CBD cannabis flower. The approval of guidelines to export cannabis flower was welcomed by companies in Colombia’s cannabis industry including Flora Growth, which is already licensed to export cannabis derivatives produced at its cultivation facility in the South American nation.
The export approval process includes adjustments to the company’s quota that allow it to add cannabis flower to its existing purchase agreements with countries including Germany, Israel, Australia, South Africa, Portugal and Malta. With the passage of the resolution, Flora can now include shipments of dried cannabis flower with derivatives exports to its subsidiaries Flora Lab in Bogota, Colombia, and JustCBD in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The company noted that products exported to the United States would contain less than 0.3 percent THC to comply with federal regulations.
A Growing Cannabis Industry in Colombia
Flora Growth operates a 254-acre cannabis cultivation facility in Colombia where it is able to grow cannabis at a cost of approximately six cents per gram. The operation also includes an on-site extraction facility, advanced drying systems, sterilization equipment and cannabinoid isolation systems. Jason Warnock, the company’s chief commercial officer, said that Flora Growth has “been working diligently to have all the necessary approvals and capabilities available to produce high THC flower, including multiple cannabis strains with THC levels over 20 percent.”
“This resolution also clears the path to export dried CBD flower to markets including the United States where Flora already sell hundreds of CBD products via owned brands like JustCBD, MIND, and Mambe,”
.The adoption of Colombia’s cannabis flower export regulations was praised by Clever Leaves Holdings, a leading multinational operator and licensed producer of pharmaceutical-grade cannabinoids with cultivation operations in Colombia and Portugal.
that “the company has been preparing for the change in regulation and with the resolution issued by the Colombian government, Clever Leaves expects to supply flower for our target markets in 2022.”Fajardo also said that “cannabis flower accounts for over 50 percent of the medical cannabis market in its target geographies and thus represents a significant growth avenue for Clever Leaves in the near future as it will leverage its cost, scale, quality certifications, commercial relationships, and experience selling and exporting flower.”
Citing information from
, Calum Hughes, CEO and chairman of Canadian-based cannabis operator Allied Corp., said that dried cannabis flower is the fastest growing product segment in the multi-billion dollar international cannabis industry.Unlike processed products such as isolate, high quality cannabis flower must come to market with the aesthetics and terpene/cannabinoid profile that the customer wants,”
in a statement from the company. “This is where Allied excels. We are excited to immediately take action with our first shipments of cannabis flower from Colombia to international markets.”