It is well known to Americans that the CBD market is in a state of rapid growth, and some predictions say the market’s value in North America could reach $16 billion by 2025. [1] Still, many overlook that similar trends are gripping Europe.
The markets there, especially in Central Europe, are seeing unprecedented levels of expansion. Because of more relaxed legal standards on that continent, marijuana trade growth seems to pull ahead: According to Yahoo! Finance, weed values in Europe are set to grow by 400% by 2023. CBD is different from weed because it doesn’t get the user high.
Still, CBD market growth in Europe is clipping along at a pace that makes it notable. A market valued by the Brightfield Group at around $318 million in 2018 could rise to as much as $1.7 billion by 2023. [2]
The Yahoo! Finance report notes that much of the change in recent years surrounding both types of cannabis comes from a development in the attitudes of both the European Union and United Nations toward favoring the substances.
Traditionally, the governing bodies have taken harsh anti-cannabis stances. That’s been changing, which means good things for the CBD and the marijuana industries. [3]
A recent dispatch from Leafly showcased one of Europe’s largest trade expos for CBD and other cannabis products, the Prague CannaFest.
Slovakia is the only country in Europe where CBD is not legal, so many farmers there, especially in Eastern and Central Europe, have turned to harvesting hemp plants for their numerous benefits when it comes to low water consumption and the profit margins of CBD extraction. [3]
Another aspect pushing European farming of hemp is the uncertainty coming from American regulators surrounding the CBD crops in the U.S., where the Food and Drug Administration has made misleading comments that early on after hemp legalization had some in Europe worried about imports from North America. [4]
More recent statements from outgoing Commissioner of the FDA, Scott Gottlieb, clarified that it is only the use of CBD in food and drink that raises issues. Nevertheless, Gottlieb said clearer regulatory guidelines may best be created with new laws instead of an internal FDA process that could take years.
While the U.S. sorts its own CBD matters, Europe’s comparatively quite small industry for hemp is showing the signs that it will follow with rapid cannabidiol growth of its own.
Sources
[1] https://www.nothingbuthemp.net/blog/update-on-the-growth-of-cbd-investing-experts-show-increasing-promise-across-industry
[2] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/europes-weed-cbd-market-tipped-soar-2400-400-respectively-114522243.html
[3] https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/cbd-booming-central-europe-thats-not-necessarily-good-thing
[4] https://www.nothingbuthemp.net/blog/fda-head-en-route-to-retirement-calls-for-legislative-solutions-to-hemp-regulation
