Clever Leaves to Take Advantage of the Approval to Export Medical Cannabis Flower from Colombia
July 23 2021 - 5:46PM
Clever Leaves Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: CLVR) (“Clever Leaves” or the
“Company”), a multinational operator and licensed producer of
pharmaceutical-grade cannabinoids, hosted Colombian President Duque
at its cultivation facility in Colombia for the signing of a new
decree that allows Colombian licensed cannabis companies such as
Clever Leaves to participate in the commercial production and
export of medical cannabis flower. With flower representing an
estimated 50% of the global medical cannabis markets, this decree
doubles the total addressable market for Colombian cannabis
producers.
Clever Leaves is well-positioned to take
advantage of this opportunity to export dried cannabis flower,
leveraging its 1.8 million sq. ft. CUMCS GACP certified cultivation
facility, its EUGMP Part II certification covering the production
of dry flower, and its 30-plus cannabinoid genetics registered in
the country. Colombia’s environmental conditions, coupled with
Clever Leaves’ experience in sustainable cannabis growing, will
allow the company to bring to market unique products with
pharmaceutical quality. Colombian flower complements Clever Leaves’
already strong Portuguese flower production, allowing the company
to present a comprehensive portfolio, covering different strains
and growing conditions, that will suit ever-evolving patient
needs.
Having shipped cannabis products to over 15
countries in five continents, Clever Leaves has a strong network of
partners globally, who will benefit from its broader flower
offering. Clever Leaves will leverage its position as a trusted B2B
partner to develop and produce high quality and innovative products
for medical cannabis patients around the world.
This change in regulation, allowing for the
export of dried flower, will catalyze the continued development of
the Colombian medical cannabis industry by eliminating the
restriction that blocked access to 50% of the global medical
cannabis market. In addition, the decree includes features that
will help Clever Leaves to drive additional growth, including
streamlined processes in quota management systems, which enable
efficiencies and improve Clever Leaves’ ability to serve clients
faster. The bill also includes access to medical cannabis for
patients in Colombia.
During the visit to Clever Leaves’ facilities,
President Duque, who was accompanied by several of his ministers,
regional and local authorities, highlighted the expected impact of
this to the country: “This new decree represents an important
milestone for Colombia, enabling us to compete in international
markets. Furthermore, the decree raises the standards of our
products and adds significant value, particularly in the medicinal
sector. Clever Leaves has served as a benchmark for the Colombian
cannabis industry, generating 17 employments per hectare at its
cultivation facility. I encourage our government representatives
across various entities to unite and further support the
development of the industry.”
Kyle Detwiler, CEO at Clever Leaves said: “The
change in policy by the Colombian government could double our
addressable market from Colombia, a region where Clever Leaves has
made a substantial capacity investment but where we have been
limited in only selling processed or extracted products up to this
point in time. Nevertheless, since 2016, we have been building the
capabilities required to produce a pharmaceutical-grade
product.
“This regulatory evolution will enable us to
better serve our customers around the world by capitalizing on
Latin America’s only EU GMP certified cannabis operation, which,
much to many peoples’ surprise, already includes EU GMP certified
dry flower production. In hopeful anticipation of this moment, our
team has spent the past several years developing commercial
relationships, market insights and supply partnerships globally,
and this catalyst will hopefully unlock significant potential of
our gradually expanding customer base. Through our Portuguese dry
flower production facility, we have learned and successfully
navigated the different challenges facing a flower operation,
including quality requirements, GACP and EU GMP certifications,
sterility protocols, import/export logistics of psychoactive
product, and cannabinoid potency requirements, many of which are
different from that of processed or extracted products. We hope
these lessons and relationships allow Clever Leaves to capitalize
on Colombia’s new cannabis regulations.”
___________________________________1 Market size estimates
calculated from data reported in:
- Grandview Industry Analysis, Legal Marijuana Market Size, Share
& Trends Analysis Report By Marijuana Type (Medical, Adult
Use), By Product Type (Flower, Oil), By Medical Application
(Chronic Pain, Mental Disorders), And Segment Forecasts, 2021 –
2028. May 2021
- BDS Analytics, Arcview Market Research, The State of Legal
Cannabis Markets, 7th Edition, 2020 Update.
About Clever Leaves Holdings
Inc.
Clever Leaves is a multinational cannabis
company with an emphasis on ecologically sustainable, large-scale
cultivation and pharmaceutical-grade processing as the cornerstones
of its global cannabis business. With operations and investments in
the United States, Canada, Colombia, Germany and Portugal, Clever
Leaves has created an effective distribution network and global
footprint, with a foundation built upon capital efficiency and
rapid growth. Clever Leaves aims to be one of the industry’s
leading global cannabis companies recognized for its principles,
people, and performance while fostering a healthier global
community. Clever Leaves has received multiple international
certifications that have enabled it to increase its export and
sales capacity from its Colombian operations, including European
Union Good Manufacturing Practices (EU GMP) Certification, a Good
Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Certification by Colombia National
Food and Drug Surveillance Institute - Invima, and Good
Agricultural and Collecting Practices (GACP) Certification. Clever
Leaves was granted a license in Portugal from Infarmed – the
Portuguese health authority – which allows Clever Leaves to
cultivate, import and export dry flower for medicinal and research
purposes. In addition, the Portuguese operation was granted
certification of compliance with GACP and IMC-GAP.
For more information, please visit
https://cleverleaves.com/en/home/ and follow us on LinkedIn.
Clever Leaves Investor
Inquiries:Cody Slach and Jackie KeshnerGateway Investor
Relations+1-949-574-3860CLVR@gatewayir.com
Clever Leaves Press
Contacts:McKenna MillerKCSA Strategic
Communications+1-347-487-6197mmiller@kcsa.com
Diana SigüenzaStrategic Communications
Director+57-310-236-8830diana.siguenza@cleverleaves.com
Clever Leaves Commercial
Inquiries:Andrew MillerVice President Sales - EMEA, North
America, and
Asia-Pacific+1-416-817-1336andrew.miller@cleverleaves.com
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