After several years of legislative process, our authorities approved the Law authorizing the production and industrialization of hemp and medicinal cannabis in Costa Rica. This industry fully coincides with the DNA of our productive sector, land, labor, agricultural activity, industrialization and above all, the distribution of wealth among the greatest number of Costa Ricans.
As evidenced by the wide range of activities where the sector is a leader, in this new industry, we seek not only to participate but also to be competitive. This competitiveness once again reflects our capacity for innovation, consistency and above all adaptability to international markets, their standards and regulations. Today, the Government of the Republic has marked a north in the direction of promoting the economic recovery of our country and this industry will be one of these fundamental pillars.
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It is on the issue of economic recovery that the implementation of regulations by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and the Ministry of Public Health will be transcendental. These regulations must faithfully reflect the spirit of the law approved by the Legislative Assembly, without restrictions or irrational requirements and, in particular, which respond to the conceptions of the markets in which we aspire to place our products and, therefore, similar towards the countries of origin where the markets are located.
The biggest producers
In the case of the hemp sector, the 4 largest producing countries are China, with 101,171 hectares in production, Canada with 53,013, the United States with 31,636 and France with 17,401. markets that buy hemp and its products are essentially the same.
Main consumers
Regarding cannabis, the 5 largest consumers in the world, projected for the year 2024, are the United States with 30.1 billion dollars in demand, Canada with 5.1 billion dollars, Germany with 1, 3 billion, Mexico with 1.02 billion and the United Kingdom with 546 million. dollars of demand.
As can be seen, our natural market seems to be North America and Europe, unless we intend to export hemp and cannabis products to the world’s largest producer, China. . This situation should make us reflect on the regulatory models to analyze, since the logic would be to adapt cultivation, processing and manufacturing regulations similar to those required in the main producing markets and countries.
In this way, avoiding regulations far from reality and the evolution of the global market that could have devastating effects on large, medium and small entrepreneurs and cooperatives, as well as scaring away foreign investment.
A golden opportunity
Today, the Government of the Republic has a golden opportunity to provide a tool for development to Costa Ricans. We have confidence in the technical severity and in the alignment and synchronization of the technical bodies of the ministries with the Law approved by the First Power of the Republic and we join this new air of progress for the process of the country.
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