Australia’s ECS Botanics Holdings Ltd (ASX: ECS) announced on Monday it had successfully shipped its first consignment of dried medical cannabis flower to New Zealand’s largest cannabis distributor.
The first shipment to Nubu of ECS Botanics strains follows a four-year supply agreement inked with the firm back in August last year. The deal with MW Pharma, trading as Nubu Pharmaceuticals, is worth $1.75 million. The flower products will be white-labelled across existing brands and sold through MW Pharma’s established relationships with pharmacy networks across New Zealand.
In the first year, the minimum order value will be $250,000, with minimum $500,000 orders over the following three years.
ECS says the strains are registered as flower for inhalation and the first imported cannabis flower registered for this method of administration in New Zealand.
“This shipment demonstrates ECS’ high-quality products, as New Zealand has one of the highest barriers for entry for imported medicinal cannabis,” said ECS Managing Director Nan-Maree Schoerie. “I am confident that our product will be as well received by New Zealand patients, as it has been by our Australian and other overseas patients.”
NUBU CEO and co-founder Mark Dye said his company led the NZ market with the successful registration of dried flower for oral consumption (tea).
“.. it is great to be able to expand the portfolio of products available for New Zealand patients, with dried flower products for inhalation via ECS.”
ECS is expecting New Zealand will become a strong market for the company over the 2022/23 financial year, and notes it is also currently progressing product registration in Poland and Germany. Both countries are significant medical cannabis markets.
In other recent news from ECS Botanics, in June the company outlined its strategy for removing its finger from a number of cannabis pies and focusing its operations entirely on medicinal cannabis. The company says those sales represented 86% of the group’s revenue in the last quarter. ECS is already in the process of divesting from its hemp food and wellness division, and is seeking to sell off its Tasmanian property and hard assets.