Hawke’s Bay Could Become A Prime Hemp Growing Area

Just a week after Hawke’s Bay business groups decided to team up to investigate opportunities around growing hemp, the government has legalised its use as food. In a move that could see Hawke’s Bay becoming a prime hemp-growing region, Food Safety Minister Damien O’Connor said the Misuse of Drugs (Industrial Hemp) Regulations 2006 and the Food Regulations 2015 would be amended to allow the sale of hemp seed as food. “This is great news for the local hemp industry, which has argued for decades that the production of hemp seed foods will stimulate regional economies, create jobs and generate $10-20 million of export revenue within three to five years.” Business Hawke’s Bay chief executive Carolyn Neville said, as a result of last week’s Future Foods Conference in Napier, a hemp special interest group would be formed to explore customer oriented opportunities in the fibre, medicine and food categories. Photo: Hawke’s Bay looking at becoming big player in hemp industry For more on this and other great Hawke’s Bay stories go to hawkesbaytoday.co.nz Posted: 13 November 2018