Market Analysis | Benchmarks & Prices
2019 represented the most significant, and largest, hemp harvest globally, with perceived consumer demand and changing agricultural regulation in a number of countries, particularly the US, resulting in a raw material biomass supply that has far outweighed actual current market demand.
The result has been falling hemp biomass prices through 2019, with a subsequent ripple effect reducing prices down the supply chain and impacting the wholesale price of refined CBD products.
Competition among extractors and increasing stocks of product resulted in downward pressure on the crude oil market, in turn depressing prices. In the US crude oil prices fell 63% between April and September according to Hemp Benchmarks.
As the largest market for Cannabinoids, hemp cultivation has dramatically expanded in the U.S. through 2019, with over quadruple the number of acres licensed in hemp compared to last year. It is estimated (according to Vote Hemp’s annual survey of state agriculture departments) that 230,000 acres of hemp has been planted in 2019 and 115,000 to 138,000 acres will end up being harvested. This is a significant increase on the 78,176 acres grown in 2018. It is expected that 80% of crops through 2019 were destined for CBD refinement.
In the 5 charts below we summarise the 2019 CBD price trends for a range of hemp raw material classes:
