Debra Borchardt
The latest data from Cannabis Benchmarks reported that the national wholesale flower price has hit a historic low. For the week ending September 15, the U.S. Cannabis Spot Index decreased 1.2% to $936 per pound and in grams, the Spot price was $2.06.
Cannabis Benchmarks wrote that prices continued to slide with summer sales drawing to a close and the traditional fall harvest fast approaching. The wholesale flower price of $936 per pound is down 7.3% year-on-year, from $1,010 in the week ending September 16, 2022.
The data collector wrote, “We have in recent reports noted that the current downturn can be chalked up largely to seasonal trends, with summer harvests coming to market as sales begin to slow in the wake of the high-demand summer season.”
Despite the gloomy news, there were some glimmers of green shoots in the data. Benchmarks also noted that “While greenhouse and outdoor flower have been contributing to the overall downtrend in the U.S. Spot that began in June, both remain above their recent lows. This week’s greenhouse flower price of $670 per pound is up 10.6% from its recent trough of $606, observed in February. This week’s outdoor flower price of $452 per pound is up 17.1% from the December 2022 low of $386 for the grow type.”
States With Rising Prices
Cannabiz Media also posted pricing information based on data from Cannabis Benchmarks that also highlighted some states where prices have actually risen. Looking at the data from August 2023, the top three states where the average price per gram increased were:
- MA increased by 11.99% ($0.35) from $2.92 to $3.27.
- VT increased by 4.58% ($0.20) from $4.37 to $4.57.
- NY increased by 4.35% ($0.25) from $5.75 to $6.00.
Similarly, the top three states where prices increased per pound were:
- MA increased by 12.08% ($160.00) from $1,325.00 to $1,485.00.
- VT increased by 4.54% ($90.00) from $1,982.00 to $2,072.00.
- NY increased by 4.33% ($113.00) from $2,607.00 to $2,720.00.
Consistency In Cycles
Cannabis Benchmarks also stated that outdoor flower prices for last week were similar to last year’s prices at the same time period. They wrote, “Outdoor product prices also experienced a short-lived rise in late summer 2022 before turning downward to bottom out near the end of the year. Similar performance this year is likely and it would not be unexpected to see price dip to similar depths reached in Q4 last year. Although, as we discussed last week, this year’s autumn/winter decline may be tempered due to pullbacks in production in major Western markets.”
For example, Oregon‘s outdoor harvest significantly declined this year. Benchmarks wrote that Oregon’s August 2023 total harvest volume – encompassing indoor, outdoor, and mixed light licensees – was 667,267 pounds of wet weight, down 41.9% from August 2022’s total harvest of 1,148,924 pounds.
