Cannabis firm Xebra Brands Ltd. (CSE: XBRA) (OTCQB: XBRAF) (FSE: 9YC) could start selling its cannabis at Dutch pharmacies if its crops are selected for the government’s pot pilot.
On Wednesday, the Vancouver-headquartered company said its cannabis crop in the Netherlands are ready to be harvested. Xebra will submit two samples by the end of March, one with high-THC content and one with a balanced THC-to-CBD ratio.
Xebra says it’s one out of five companies selected by the Dutch government to apply for two licences in a medical cannabis cultivation trial.
The program is organized by the Bureau for Medicinal Cannabis, and was originally announced in 2019.
The selection process by the Dutch government requires samples from three trial crops to be evaluated for consistency and other technical growing parameters.
Two licences will be granted and win a contract for up to six years. The Netherlands’s medical cannabis market is predicted to bring in total revenue of around US$80 million.
The country is currently developing a different pilot program called the cannabis supply chain experiment (WECG) slated to be in effect for a minimum of four years, during which the government will evaluate if the rules should be expanded nationally. A total of 10 companies are being selected for that trial.
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Xebra’s cannabis is grown indoors. The firm says its genetics are characterized by high yield and compact flowers, with a growth cycle of 12–16 weeks.
The company’s director of operations Harry von Duijne in the Netherlands has had previous experience at the growing operations of Bedrocan, the only medical-grade cannabis producer that’s authorized by the government.
“We are extremely pleased with our smooth and successful results to date, as we carefully monitor every growth stage,” CEO Rodrigo Gallardo said.
“Our innovated equipment made it possible for us to automate much of the growing process from germination to flowering, ensuring maximum consistency.”
Xebra is the first company to receive authorization to commercialize hemp in Mexico after the Supreme Court granted the company an injunction. The move allows Xebra to import, cultivate and process hemp via its Mexico-based subsidiary Desart MX S.A. de C. V.
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