North American companies are wading into the German market at a rapid pace as its medical cannabis program blossoms.

Germany’s cannabis has been imported from mainly Holland and Canada, but a competitive tendering exercise has now selected three companies to create a domestic supply. Aphria and Aurora from Canada and Demecan from Germany, successfully bid to win the licences, say Prohibition Partners in its recent ‘Cannabis Legal Report’. 

Three Winners In German Growing Contest

The London-based analysts say the overall contract is for 10,400 kilograms, with Aphria and Aurora each winning five of the 13 lots, and Demecan the remaining three. While there are no official figures on the number of medical cannabis patients German cannabis firm Cannamedical Pharma, estimates 30,000 patients were served in 2018, and imports totaled 22,000 kilograms. 

A well as Aurora and Aphria, Canopy Growth has also also bought into the market with the purchase of the continent’s largest cannabinoid-based pharmaceutical company, Germany’s C3 Cannabinoid, for 27.1 million euros. Cresco Labs launched on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE) earlier this month with its CEO Charlie Bachtell saying in a press release that it ‘will allow European institutional and retail investors to pursue an investment’ in the firm.

German Market Listings De Rigueur

In the same week Vancouver-based testing company XPhyto Therapeutics announced its FSE listing, with CEO Hugh Rogers saying that given its  ‘German cannabis licence and its commitment to building import and distribution capability in the country, a Frankfurt listing was a logical choice’.

Canadian cannabis licensed producer Pasha Brands listed on the FSE in July as did U.S. firm Columbia Care saying it will help company break into the European market. Prohibition Partners estimates that Europe’s total cannabis market will reach a size of 123 billion euros within 10 years.

And, in its ‘Cannabis Legal Report’ report launched earlier this month it elaborates on the attraction of Germany for North American firms, saying its ‘medicinal market alone promises to be larger than Canada’s medicinal and recreational markets combined, making it an essential outpost for ambitious firms’. 

One of the added attractions of Germany for North American cannabis firms is its advanced insurance regime, and, while Southern European countries may become the leaders in production due to their warmer climates, Northern European countries such as Germany and the U.K. are stronger in research and development.