Hemp Around the World
Hemp Around the WorldHEMP AROUND THE WORLD
AUSTRALIA
While hemp is currently banned, government officials have permitted one farmer to grow the crop on a small-scale research plot. Public support for hemp farming is gathering. An informative one-hour Australian TV documentary, The Billion-Dollar Crop, is available on video. The Tasmanian Hemp Company is campaigning for the legalization of hemp in the state of Tasmania, and the Northern Tasmanian Pulp and Paper Mill is researching possible uses of hemp pulp for their factory.
CANADA
Canada was a major hemp-growing region until the 20th century, when it followed in America's footsteps by prohibiting hemp production. In 1994, Canada issued its first license in over 40 years to Hempline, Inc., which was allowed to plant 10 acres of industrial hemp in the province of Ontario, on land that previously had been cultivated for tobacco. Dozens of hemp manufacturers and retail stores, supported by hemp importation, are sprouting up across Canada. Agricultural Canada, the federal agricultural department of Canada, published in December 1994 their Bi-Weekly Bulletin Vol. 7, No. 23, on hemp farming, and printed it on hemp paper. Legislation has been introduced by the ruling Liberal Party to lift the ban on industrial hemp, so that farmers throughout Canada can be licensed to grow it. Plans are being developed to establish hemp-processing plants for the anticipated crops.
CHILE
Chile has had a long history with hemp since its colonization by Spain and is presently growing hemp for seed oil. The seeds are crushed and the oil is exported in refrigerated containers to the USA. The hemp oil is then processed by US entrepeneurs into cosmetics, massage oils and salad oils.
CHINA
China has been growing hemp (ma) for at least 6,000 years, and is currently the world's largest exporter of hemp paper and textiles. With its vast natural resources and labor pool, it will be a major influence in the future hemp industry. China is also the largest producer of nonwood paper, including hemp paper, in the world.
FRANCE
In France, more than 10,000 tons of industrial hemp (chanvre) were harvested in 1994. Kimberly-Clark Corporation manufactures specialty hemp papers, including Bible and cigarette papers, there. French companies are also experimenting with combining hemp fibers and lime to make a lightweight natural cement that can also be used as plaster.
GERMANY
Since the German ban on the farming of hemp (hanf) in 1982, there has been little activity until recently. The last German hemp grower farmed 350 acres, selling the fiber to manufacturers of ropes, textiles and cigarette papers, and the inner stem (or hurds) for conversion into particle board and insulation material.
Hemp has been grown for research purposes at the Agricultural Research Laboratory in Braunschweig since 1992. The 1993 publication in Germany of The Rediscovery of the Resource Hemp, Cannabis Marijuana, by Herer, Brockers and Katalyse, helped spark renewed interest in the media and general public. The German Association of Farmers has come out in support of the reintroduction of hemp for cultivation.
Meanwhile, many German firms are developing technologies and products based on imported hemp. A seven-store chain, the Hanfhaus (Hemphouse), specializes in hemp products. In 1993, Schneidersohne, Germany's largest paper manufacturer, introduced a line of hemp-based paper products. According to the Nova Institute of Cologne, total 1994 sales of hemp products surpassed DM 20 million (US $14 million), up from virtually zero in 1993. This year, a remodeled pulp mill capable of producing 6,000 tons of hemp and flax pulp will open near Dresden. Last March, the first hemp product and technology symposium in the world, Bioresource Hemp, was held in Frankfurt.
GREAT BRITAIN
In 1993, the English Home Office lifted the British prohibition against hemp farming. More than 30 farmers in England and Scotland have subsequently planted industrial hemp. The hemp hurds are used primarily for animal bedding. Hemcore and ESP Hemp UK are currently developing markets for hemp paper and textiles. The UK's hemp industry recently received a boost with a [[sterling]]100,000 grant (US $150,000) from the government to develop new markets for natural fibers, including hemp and flax.
HUNGARY
Before the collapse of the Eastern bloc, Hungary was a major supplier of hemp (kender) for rope, twine and textiles to the Soviet Union. The Hungarians are currently rebuilding their hemp-textile industry and are exporting hemp fabric, much of it to the United States.
THE NETHERLANDS
The Dutch government is participating in an extensive four-year study to evaluate and test the practical aspects of growing hemp (hennep) and processing it into pulp for paper production. A respected Dutch researcher, Hayo van der Werf, has written an up-to-date treatise on hemp cultivation, The Crop Physiology of Fibre Hemp. The cultivation of hemp is increasing in the Netherlands, along with the development of processing equipment.
POLAND
Poland currently grows hemp (penek) for fabric and manufactures hemp particleboard products for construction.
ROMANIA
Romania is the largest commercial producer of hemp in Europe, with 40,000 acres devoted to the crop in 1993. Much of the harvest is currently exported to Hungary for processing before its ultimate exportation to the West.
RUSSIA
Until the 1900s, Russia was the world's largest cultivator and exporter of hemp (konopli), employing much of its large peasant labor force in that industry. The N.I. Vavilov Scientific Research Institute of Plant Industry (VIR) in St. Petersburg maintains the largest hemp germ-plasm collection in the world, one that includes many varieties not found in other gene banks. The International Hemp Association is raising funds so that the VIR can continue to plant and maintain these irreplaceable hemp seeds.
SLOVENIA
Slovenia's currency-printing plant manufactures hemp paper for exportation to the United States.
SPAIN
Spain is the sole exporter of hemp (ca�amo) pulp for specialty papers. The country's domestic hemp products include rope and textiles.
UNITED STATES
The US government has not granted any permits for large-scale hemp farming in more than 40 years. In fact, in recent years the Smithsonian Institute in Washington removed tags identifying early-American textile relics in their museum as hemp products. However, increasing interest in environmentally friendly products has created a growing demand for hemp goods.
In 1992, there were less than a dozen active hemp importers and manufacturers in the USA; by 1994, more than 200 firms were offering a wide range of hemp products. Total annual hemp-product sales are now estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars. Large corporations (such as Adidas and Calvin Klein) are developing exciting new products to be marketed in major department stores. Given the renewed public interest and the fact that supplies are still limited (essentially, all raw and processed materials must be imported), costs are artificially high. Over the next several years, expect to see increased supplies bring prices down.
Only when the hemp ban is lifted will large quantities of industrial hemp be available domestically, eliminating the high transportation costs of imported hemp goods. Last November, Kentucky Governor Brereton Jones appointed a task force to evaluate the feasibility of tobacco farmers growing hemp. And, in January, the Hemp Production Act of 1995 was introduced in the Colorado legislature (it lost). These are hopeful signs that state governments are starting to recognize hemp's potential.