Debra Borchardt
International expansion is the words of the day as several companies announced plans to reach beyond the borders of Canada and the U.S. It seems Colombia is where all the action is.
MJ Freeway
MJ Freeway, a subsidiary of Akerna Corp. (NASDAQ: KERN) said it is expanding further into Europe by serving clients in two additional countries, Italy and Macedonia. The company also recently opened a Medellín, Colombia office to serve its growing footprint in South America. MJ Freeway client, Clever Leaves, is the first Colombian company authorized to export cannabis into Canada.
“We believe it is imperative for countries with emerging cannabis businesses such as Italy and Macedonia to have access to our compliance technology,” says Jessica Billingsley, CEO of Akerna and MJ Freeway. “By giving governments, businesses, and consumers the tools needed to productively manage regulatory demands, we are able to execute our plan to connect data points across the global cannabis supply chain.”
The company stated that Macedonia is one of the few countries in the world to approve medical cannabis for cultivation and export. Italy has significantly increased its hemp production to serve its growing domestic market for industrial products and infusing in cosmetics and other consumer goods. As a result of the expansion into Italy and Macedonia, MJ Freeway has increased its footprint to five European countries including Spain, Switzerland and Denmark.
MYM Nutraceuticals Inc.
MYM Nutraceuticals Inc.(CSE: MYM) (OTCBB: MYMMF) announced that its subsidiary in Colombia, Colombia Organica S.A.S signed agreements in principle to cultivate both THC and CBD-rich cannabis with independent farmers for an initial five acres. The company said in a statement that cannabis will be cultivated by farmers who will be licensees under the existing Colombia Organica cannabis cultivation licenses. The first crops cultivated on the initial five acres will function as test crops with the intention to add subsequent acreage.
“Our team in Colombia has begun to execute on our plan to cultivate both THC and CBD-rich cannabis in South America,” said Howard Steinberg, CEO of MYM. “The strategy of extending our licenses to neighboring farmers to cultivate cannabis will serve to increase our biomass supply that we intend on processing and exporting to the global market.”
The farmers will be responsible for all costs associated with cultivation from seed to sale. Colombia Organica agrees to purchase the harvested biomass at a price to be determined at the time of delivery based on the average market price at that time.
Aleafia Health
Aleafia Health Inc. (TSX: ALEF)(OTC: ALEAF) said it received multiple Export Permits from Health Canada, which allow the Company to begin its first international cannabis product shipment. Aleafia said it expects to ship its branded medical cannabis oils in the next month, which will be distributed by Australian Licensed Producer CannaPacific Pty. Limited. Aleafia Health owns a 10 % equity stake in CannaPacific.
“The receipt of Health Canada Export Permits enables Aleafia Health to sell high-margin, value-added cannabis products across international borders for the first time, representing a major milestone as we augment our global distribution platform,” said Aleafia Health Chairman Julian Fantino. “We continue to prove the international viability of our highly differentiated cannabis health and wellness ecosystem with products, clinic operations, education and distribution. With among the largest cultivation and extraction footprints in Canada coming online, we will continue to look to new international markets.”
“This is such a tremendous milestone for CannaPacific. Our relationship with Aleafia Health continues to accelerate our strategic vision of leadership in the Australasian medical cannabis market,” said CannaPacific CEO Joshua Dennis. “We have the facility, the proven management team, and now the product portfolio to continue executing towards our goal.”
