Recently, the German Federal Institute for Medicines and Medical Devices (BfArM) released third quarter medical cannabis import data, showing that the country’s medical cannabis market is still growing rapidly.
Starting from April 1, 2024, with the implementation of the German Cannabis Act (CanG) and the German Medical Cannabis Act (MedCanG), cannabis is no longer classified as an “anesthetic” substance in Germany, making it easier for patients to obtain prescription medical cannabis. In the third quarter, the import volume of medical marijuana in Germany increased by over 70% compared to the previous quarter (i.e. the first three months after the implementation of Germany’s comprehensive marijuana reform). As the German Medicines Agency no longer tracks these data, it is unclear how many imported medical cannabis drugs actually enter pharmacies, but industry insiders say that the number of cannabis drugs has also increased since April.
In the third quarter of the data, the total import volume of dried cannabis for medical and medical science purposes (in kilograms) increased to 20.1 tons, an increase of 71.9% from the second quarter of 2024 and 140% from the same period last year. This means that the total import volume for the first nine months of this year was 39.8 tons, an increase of 21.4% compared to the full year import volume in 2023. Canada remains Germany’s largest exporter of cannabis, with exports increasing by 72% (8098 kilograms) in the third quarter alone. So far, Canada has exported 19201 kilograms to Germany in 2024, exceeding last year’s total of 16895 kilograms, which is twice the export volume of 2022. In the past few years, the trend of medical cannabis products imported from Canada dominating in Europe has become increasingly evident, with top Canadian cannabis companies prioritizing exports to the European medical market because prices in the European medical market are more favorable compared to the high tax domestic market. This situation has sparked resistance from multiple markets. In July of this year, industry media reported that after domestic cannabis producers complained about “product dumping,” the Israeli Ministry of Economy launched an investigation into the Canadian cannabis market in January, and Israel has now made a “preliminary decision” to impose taxes on medical cannabis imported from Canada. Last week, Israel released its final report on the issue, revealing that in order to balance the price pressure of cannabis in Israel, it will impose a tax of up to 175% on Canadian medical cannabis products. Australian cannabis companies are now filing similar product dumping complaints and stating that they find it difficult to compete in price with medical cannabis from Canada. Given that market demand levels continue to fluctuate, it is currently unclear whether this will also become a problem for Germany. Another increasingly dominant exporting country is Portugal. So far this year, Germany has imported 7803 kilograms of medical marijuana from Portugal, which is expected to double from 4118 kilograms in 2023. Denmark is also expected to double its exports to Germany this year, from 2353 kilograms in 2023 to 4222 kilograms in the third quarter of 2024. It is worth noting that the Netherlands, on the other hand, has experienced a significant decline in its export volume. As of the third quarter of 2024, its export volume (1227 kilograms) is about half of last year’s total export volume of 2537 vehicles.
A key issue for importers and exporters is to match the import volume with actual demand, as there are almost no official statistics on how much marijuana reaches patients and how much marijuana is destroyed. Prior to the passage of the German Cannabis Act (CanG), approximately 60% of imported medical cannabis drugs had actually reached the hands of patients. Niklas Kouparanis, CEO and co-founder of the renowned German medical cannabis company Bloomwell Group, told the media that he believes this proportion is changing. The latest data from the German Federal Medical Administration shows that the import volume in the third quarter was 2.5 times that of the first quarter, which was the last quarter before the reclassification of medical marijuana came into effect on April 1, 2024. This growth is mainly due to the improvement of patient drug accessibility, as well as the fully digital treatment methods that are sought after by patients, including remote medical doctor appointments and electronic prescriptions that can be delivered. The data displayed on the Bloomwell platform actually far exceeds the import data. In October 2024, the number of new patients on the Bloomwell digital platform and applications was 15 times that of March this year. Now, tens of thousands of patients receive treatment every month through Bloomwell’s medical cannabis platform. No one knows the exact quantity provided to pharmacies since then, as this report has become outdated after the reclassification of medical marijuana. Personally, I believe that there are now more quantities of medical marijuana reaching patients. Nevertheless, the biggest achievement of the German cannabis industry since April 2024 has been maintaining this astonishing growth without any supply shortages.
Post time: Nov-28-2024