A new report indicates the legal cannabis market in Australia, New Zealand and Oceania region generally is set to boom.
Prohibition Partners Oceania Cannabis Report: Second Edition says the region’s legal cannabis market is expected to be worth US$1.55 billion by 2024 – that’s around AUD $2.45 billion at current exchange rates.
Australia will take the lion’s share of that figure – around 70% of the overall market due its larger population and higher household disposable income. Overall, medicinal cannabis is expected to account for approximately 40% of the Oceania market.
Prohibition Partners says there will be a falling reliance on imported cannabis products, leading to a significant increase in revenue generated by the regional cannabis industry.
There are quite a few large projects in the pipeline that we’ve mentioned here on Hemp Gazette. For example, back in February we reported Major Project Status had been awarded by the Federal Government to three more medicinal cannabis ventures. The granting of Major Project Status means certain approvals are streamlined and other assistance provided to get projects up and running as soon as possible.
There have also been whispers cannabidiol (CBD) could potentially be available over-the-counter in Australia in the not too distant future; a development that would see CBD sales skyrocket.
Prohibition Partners sees the legal cannabis sector as important to providing Australia a much needed economic boost after bushfires severely impacted wide swathes of the nation.
“At the end of 2019 and into 2020, Australia was rocked by devastating wildfires, which claimed in excess of 11 million hectares of land across the country,” said Prohibition Partners’ Group Managing Director Stephen Murphy. “Australia holds ambitions to become a central player in the global cannabis sector, and the success of this industry could come to play a major role in helping counteract the economic impact of these wildfires.”
As for the impact of the coronavirus COVID-19 that soon followed, while noting some cannabis stock prices on the ASX have been slammed, Prohibition Partners’ observation is that there doesn’t appear to be any significant disruption to the industry’s production and supply lines. However, it says it’s still too early to gauge the full impact COVID-19 will have.
Prohibition Partners’ Oceania Cannabis Report: Second Edition can be downloaded here.
