While hemp is cultivated widely in the USA these days, the country still imports a significant quantity of hemp- derived products.
The USDA AMS’s National Weekly Hemp Report contains among other information the total import volumes and values of all hemp commodities entering the U.S. for both the current week and for the year to date.
In its final report covering 2024, the report notes 887,098 kilograms of biomass valued at $557,682 entered the USA last year, with the Netherlands being the biggest source (458,518 kilograms), followed by France (329,469 kilograms).
For oilcake and solid residues extracted from hemp seed, 719,763 kilograms was imported; the majority of which (574,525 kilograms) came from the Canadian province of Manitoba.
Over to oil seed and hemp seed for sowing, and 551,274 kilograms were imported into the US in 2024. China reigned here, providing 409,373 kilograms. Where oil seed was to be used for consumption, 3,651,530 kilograms came into the USA. Canada was the biggest source – 2,986,233 kilograms from Manitoba, 308,471 kilograms from Saskatchewan, 47,55 kilograms from Ontario, 20,029 kg from British Columbia, 5,772 kilograms from Alberta and 9,850 kilograms from Quebec.
Looking at hemp fibre categories, 83,187 kilograms of yarn was imported, with only two significant sources – Romania (54,078 kg) and China (28,041 kg). For fabric, 240,708 square metres was imported, with China contributing 217,170 square metres. The Philippines was by far the biggest supplier of twine; accounting for 792,702 kilograms from a total of 892,588 kg.
When it came to hemp oil, 419,730 kilograms made its way into the USA; with Canada the biggest point of origin – 279,256 kilograms from Manitoba, 2,363 kilograms from British Columbia, 69,976 kg from Saskatchewan and 4,445 kg from Ontario.
As for how much Australia contributed to the USA’s imports – it wasn’t anything to get particularly excited about. 2024 saw 39,900 kg of oil seed for sowing, 2 kilograms of oilseed for consumption, and 48 kilograms of oil exported from the land down under to the USA.
The AMS report can be viewed here.
After many decades of prohibition, the USA’s 2018 Farm Bill reclassified hemp; making it legal to grow with the appropriate license. It is now considered an agricultural commodity like any other crop; assuming it has a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. But previous to 2018, the 2014 Farm Bill allowed for state departments of agriculture and universities to grow it and manufacture products as part of research or pilot programs.
