The CCSI was assessed at C$5.14 per gram this week, down 1.2% from last week’s C$5.20 per gram. This week’s price equates to US$1,812 per pound at the current exchange rate.
Each week, Business of Cannabis delivers a series of insights from our partners at Cannabis Benchmarks®.
This month the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS), the body that regulates the province’s cannabis market, released its quarterly Cannabis Insights report for the period from October through December 2021.
In this week’s report, we focus particularly on the battle between legal and illicit supply. In the first few years of cannabis legalization, the regulated Canadian market has faced strong competition from illicit supply chains, but that situation is evolving quickly. Falling retail prices, increased product variety, and better accessibility through storefronts, pick-up / delivery options, and online marketplaces are helping legal cannabis gain the upper hand in this battle.Â
The story is particularly changing in Ontario, where the most recent report estimates the legal market made up 59% of all cannabis sales as of Q4 2021. OCS data shows the trend of legal cannabis capturing increasing proportions of the total market has been quite dramatic over the past two years, and with it we have seen monthly cannabis sales increasing rapidly. For December 2021, legal recreational cannabis sales in Ontario totaled C$127M, 37% higher than a year prior.
Based on the 2021 trajectory, we estimate that every additional 100 stores opened will help increase the proportion of total sales from legal channels by about 2%. The Ontario deployment of stores has slowed down in 2022, but our current Ontario store count estimate is 1,503 stores open as of the end of April. Based on that figure we estimate that legal cannabis currently makes up 62% of total Ontario cannabis sales. This is a great feat for the regulated cannabis market.
Source: Canada Cannabis Spot Index, Cannabis Benchmarks
See previous weekly updates from Cannabis Benchmarks:
- How legal cannabis sales in Canada have impacted alcohol sales
- Understanding the current cannabis store county in Canada right now
- Canadian cannabis market fundamentals right now
- How the growth of outdoor cannabis cultivation impacts Canadian cannabis
- Canadian cannabis retail store count right now
- Flattening cannabis sales part of a common trend?
- Cannabis sales and store insights from BC
- Cannabis store count in Alberta right now
- A look at monthly cannabis sales in Canada
- How to compare annual cumulative cannabis sales in Canada
- Canadian cannabis consumer and patient trends right now
- Daily cannabis spend per consumer in BC now
- Canadian retail store counts right now
- A look at average daily cannabis sales in Canada
- Future growth of cannabis retail in Alberta
- Retail store counts in Canada right now
- The mix of cannabis products in Ontario right now
- How to understand legal and illicit cannabis sales
- Comparing legal and illicit cannabis purchases right now
- A look at cannabis retail store counts in Canada
- A look at daily cannabis retail sales in Canada
- Legacy and legal cannabis sales three years after legalization?
- How to understand cannabis’ impact on alcohol sales in Canada
- Understanding cannabis retail store growth in Canada
- A look at average monthly spend per cannabis consumer
- A look at processing licenses issued by Health Canada
- A look at cultivation licenses issued by Health Canada
- Understanding medical versus recreational sales right now
- A look at daily cannabis sales by Province
- How to view dry cannabis sales across Canada
- A look at percentage of legal versus illicit cannabis sales
- A look at the pace of growth for cannabis retail
- A look at monthly cannabis sales in Ontario
- What is the optimal number of cannabis stores in Canada?
- How to compare daily cannabis retail sales by Province
- Understanding the impact of cannabis on alcohol sales in Canada
- A look at cannabis retail store count by Province
