A major hemp grower has taken aim at regulators after it reported huge financial results for the year.
Hempflax, which makes a number of consumer and industrial products, grew by 43% in 2020 and saw its profits before tax rocket by 616%.
The bumper growth was driven by a surge in demand – up by 1,089% – for construction materials manufactured from hemp by the recently acquired Thermo Natur operation.
Covid-19 and national lockdowns also played a part, with sales of consumer wellness CBD products, including through Holland and Barrett stores, jumping by 42% during the pandemic and demand for hemp-derived animal bedding in the UK – where 3.2 million people acquired a new pet in 2020 – rising by 14%.
The company was also buoyed by renewed interest in hemp fibres in the automotive sector as an alternative to glass, including in the new Porsche Cayman GT4.
But in a statement accompanying the results, the company’s CEO parked the celebrations and instead lambasted European regulators.
Mark Reinders said: “This has been achieved against the unfortunate backdrop of regulatory uncertainty – notably in the CBD sector, but also present across the whole industrial hemp industry – which threatens to stifle innovation and competitiveness.
“UK and EU lawmakers urgently need to permit maximum THC levels of 0.3% in the field, thus facilitating the breeding of more varieties and aligning the European regulatory framework with other international jurisdictions, notably the US.
“Direct government funding is also needed to incentivise the development of carbon-negative hemp supply chains across the region.”
Reinders also said the hemp industry is good for global efforts to reduce carbon emissions, saying ‘for too long, doing the right thing by the planet has eaten into company profits’.
The company, which is based in the Netherlands and was founded in 1993, also has operations in Germany and Romania.
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