Yahoo Finance Why Queensland will produce 500,000 kgs of cannabis a year
A $400 million medicinal marijuana farm is slated to create 1,000 jobs in Queensland as another cannabis company plans a massive expansion in Tasmania.
Australian medicinal cannabis company, Australian Natural Therapeutics Group (ANTG) has joined forces with a Canadian cannabis company to develop one of the largest renewable-powered medicinal cannabis growing and manufacturing facilities in the world.
The $400 million facility, which will be near Toowoomba in the Darling Downs, will start construction in the next few months.
Also read: Top 10 Cannabis Stocks To Buy Now
Also read: Marijuana stocks could see more than 50% boost, says top analyst
It will produce over 500,000 kgs of medicinal marijuana every year and create over 1,000 jobs in regional Queensland.
ANTG CEO Matt Cantelo said the facility will help Australia reach its full potential in growing and cultivating medicinal cannabis and serving the domestic exports market.
“We see Australia becoming the global leader in medicinal cannabis production,” Cantelo said.
“We have the gold standard in regulatory framework, depth of research and climate for growing excellent produce - but what we haven’t had to date is the option of scale.”
Earlier this year ANTG signed a $92 million deal with a German pharmaceutical company to export commercially- grown Australian medical cannabis.
“Once we get the scale we need, we will be working to ensure medicinal cannabis is more accessible to Australians,” he said.
“This has meant we could mostly meet the demand to the general market, but in the coming years we see demand will absolutely outstrip supply.”
The news comes as another Australian cannabis company plans a big expansion in Tasmania.
ECS Botanics submitted plans to the Office of Drug Control and signed leases with farmers to expand cultivation in Tasmania by 100 times.
ECS said the growth will allow it to become a global leader in regulated medicinal cannabis production and distribution.
What are the ‘Pot Stocks’?
There are a number of publicly listed cannabis companies on the ASX. Here are three to take a look at.
Althea Group Holdings (ASX:AGH)
A Victorian-based importer and distributor of medicinal cannabis. Althea currently operates within the highly regulated medicinal cannabis markets including Australia and the United Kingdom, with plans to expand into emerging markets throughout Asia and Europe.
AusCann Group Holdings (ASX: AG8)
AusCann has been a pharmaceutical company in Australia since 1986. It focused on the development, production, and distribution of cannabinoid-based medicines within Australia and internationally.
Cann Group (ASX: CAN)
Cann Group was the first Australian company to get the licences and permits to cultivate and research cannabis for human medicinal purposes.
Cann has established research and development and cultivation facilities in Australia and is pursuing a fully-integrated business model to enable it to establish a leading position in plant genetics, breeding, cultivation, production, manufacturing, and clinical evaluation.
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