Morocco exported its locally manufactured legal cannabis product to Switzerland, for between 1,400 and 1,800 euros per kilogram, Le Monde reported on Tuesday.
The Moroccan products are targeting European markets, mainly Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, and France, which recently authorized medical cannabis on an experimental basis.
A quintal of resin containing less than 1% THC (the molecule responsible for the psychotropic effects) headed for Switzerland during the second quarter of the year.
The lower cost per kilogram is reportedly symbolic of the enthusiasm generated by this export, as it illustrates the high expectations that this new segment holds for private Moroccan players, according to converging local press coverage.
Investors have been enjoying the financial benefits of the industry since the enactment of the law on the legal use of cannabis in 2021 “for medical, pharmaceutical, and industrial purposes.”
There are almost 200 active operators in Morocco, making the country an emerging player in the global market whose value, for therapeutic purposes alone, is set to exceed 50 Bln dollars by 2028, according to the American investment fund Insight Partners.
The Moroccan Federation for Pharmaceutical Industry and Innovation (FMIIP) is betting on “an annual revenue stream of 4.2 to 6.3 billion dirhams” over the next four years.
National Agency for the Regulation of Cannabis Activities (ANRAC) is campaigning to stop using imported seeds, which can only be grown in irrigated systems, and to promote “beldiya” (national heritage) an early variety of local cannabis, which consumes less water, and is sowed in February.
Until now production of beldiya has been impossible as the plant’s production within a legal framework has never been certified.
ANRAC agency is working to overcome this, in collaboration with Morocco’s Institut for Agro Research (INRA) to make “beldiya” available to growers as early as 2025.
The first legal Moroccan cannabis harvest overseen by the cannabis regulator ANRAC yielded 294 tons in 2023.