Development of Hemp Industry in the European Union and Latvia

Abstract

Hemp is a very valuable plant because each part of it can be used in many ways. It can be used to produce innovative products for building construction, chemical industry, medicine, textile production, consumption, and agriculture. In the article, the authors have aggregated the information about hemp cultivation and processing sector development in the European Union and Latvia and have described its cultivation possibilities, technological processes, and processing capabilities. The aim of the present article was to reveal the topicalities of hemp industry development in the European Union and Latvia. The tasks of the research were to present an overall description of hemp industry development trends in the European Union and to characterize hemp industry development in Latvia focusing on the national support activities and hemp cultivation and processing opportunities. The authors of the article have performed an extensive secondary data analysis to summarize the most important activities that should be done at the national scale to further enhance the development of hemp industry in Latvia.

Formation of strategic management of hemp cultivation in a developing country: A case of Ukraine

“…Nowadays, the necessity for hemp cultivation in the EU is determined by the need to enhance the diversity of agricultural crops as well as by the fact that hemp is one of the fastest growing crops and it has a huge potential in different spheres of produc- tion (Vilcina et al, 2014). Diversified agricultural production is important in the context of land reform and sustainable development in Ukraine (Mykhailov et al, 2020).…”

Adapting the cultivation of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) to marginal lands: A review

“…The fiber price indeed depends on its quality and end use. Sold at around 350–400 € t −1 for paper production (Vilcina et al, 2014), its price rises to 550 to 800 € t −1 for technical applications (Grégoire et al, 2021; Pecenka et al, 2012; Vilcina et al, 2014) and can reach about 1500–1750 € t −1 if the fiber is of very high quality (Bourmaud et al, 2018). Considering that hemp fiber quality was not particularly affected by high levels of cadmium, nickel, and lead in soils (Linger et al, 2002), and should further field scale research confirm these findings and extend them to other HMs; then a single‐use hemp crop for high‐quality fiber production could be considered for cultivation on HM polluted lands.…”