HMI Group was the leading company among the few that were allowed to engage in hemp-related business in China, which was interviewed by Global Times made a special report on Chinese hemp companies see fortune behind tight controls. Peter Tan (Chairman of HMI Group) as the representative of HMI Group shared the opportunities and development of China industrial hemp companies under the strict management.
Here is the latest report from Global Times.
A hemp plantation base of the HMI Group in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province Photo: Courtesy of HMI Group
Southwest China’s Yunnan Province has a long
history and tradition of hemp plantation, with its production yield used in
rope-making and textiles.
Compared with traditional economic crops, hemp
plantations bring more income to local farmers. “The price varies from
different varieties. Usually, a kilogram of hemp leaves or flowers can be sold
for as much as 15 yuan ($2.2) per kilogram,” Tan Xin, chairperson of the
Beijing-based Hanma Investment Group (HMI Group), told the Global Times.
The HMI Group is the leading company among the
few that are allowed to engage in hemp-related business in China, which is
currently planting industrial hemp in Yunnan Province and Northeast China’s
Heilongjiang Province.
“While [Yunnan’s] role as a traditional
tobacco planting base fades, industrial hemp has been rising as an important
economic plant in Yunnan, and is playing an important role in local economic
development,” said Tan.
In modern times, hemp is being applied in more
areas. Different from medical marijuana, industrial hemp can be used in
bandages, diapers and tampons with its natural anti-bacterial, fast-drying and
ultraviolet-proof properties, said Tan.
Non-narcotic
A major component of industrial hemp is
cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive compound, and psychoactive constituent
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content is an important indicator to differentiate
narcotic hemp and industrial hemp.
“High THC content means high narcotics
content,” Zhao Lining, deputy director of a hemp seed cultivation research
room of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural science told Yicai, China’s
financial media. “In the EU and Canada, hemp with THC lower than 0.3
percent is industrial hemp, and THC content higher than 1 percent is narcotic
hemp. In China, THC content in hemp is lower than 0.3, which is low- or
non-narcotic.”
“Industrial hemp is non-narcotic, neither
addictive,” said Wu Xinghong, head of the Academy of Agricultural Science
of Northeast China’s Jilin Province.
There are more than 30 countries around the
world that allow the plantation of industrial hemp. “CBD tranquilizes and
allays excitement and is used for easing epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease,
Alzheimer’s disease, depression and brain tumors,” according to China’s
breaking news website Guanchazhe.
In order to protect traditional economic
growth while implementing drug control, in March 2003, Yunnan Province released
a provisional regulation on industrial hemp management, making it the first
province to authorize hemp plantation in China.
According to statistics, China has the largest
area of hemp plantations globally, and has planted more than half of the
world’s industrial hemp since it approved plantation. Among a global 606
patents involving hemp, China holds 309.
Tan told the Global Times that the HMI Group’s
products have been applied in cosmetics, skincare products, textile products,
food, beverages and biopharming.
China has not officially allowed the
application of industrial hemp in food and pharmaceuticals. American and
European countries are the major markets for the HMI Group’s food and beverage
products such as albumen powder and CBD drinks.
“CBD extracted from industrial hemp works
well in treating neurodegenerative diseases, and the HMI Group currently has
several such medicines under development,” Tan told the Global Times.
A scientist from the HMI Group carries a jar of cannabinoid extracted from hemp flowers and leaves. Photo: Courtesy of HMI Group
Strict management
Despite its low psychoactive-substance
content, the THC content of industrial hemp has been strictly controlled in
many countries to prevent the abuse of marijuana.
“In the actual plantation, seeds of
industrial hemp are specially selected to cultivate a variety with low THC, and
any company engaging in hemp plantation and processing should get a license and
accept strict management from the authority,” Hua Zhendong, technical
director of China’s National Narcotic Control Commission’s National Narcotics Laboratory,
told the Global Times in a previous report.
Tan told the Global Times on Friday that drug
control departments of the public security authority issue licenses after
strict investigation.
“Although THC content of industrial hemp
is lower than 0.3 percent, a factory is able to extract the matter to make
narcotics if it intends to do so, which requires management in accordance with
drug control in the industrial hemp production process,” Zhao said.
Tan told the Global Times that in order to
prevent industrial hemp from falling into illegal usage, production processes
at the HMI Group involving raw materials and extraction are under intense
surveillance.
“More than 300 surveillance cameras are
installed in the production line of hemp leaves and flowers, without any blind
angle,” said Tan. “Footage of these cameras would be sent to the
public security authority.”
All staff members are mandated to have their
urine tested monthly. During the extraction process, manufacturing shops should
be closed to avoid any human contact.
It is not difficult to plant industrial hemp.
However, the strict management establishes a rather high threshold for the
industry, said Tan.
Newspaper headline: Green gold
link:http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1159846.shtml
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