A Colombian cannabis producer has completed the country’s first commercial export of CBD isolate to Europe after its shipment arrived safely in Switzerland.
The Colombian government granted its first CBD isolate export permit to PharmaCielo (TSXV: PCLO) last month, and the firm has moved quickly to begin supplying the lucrative European market. It has now shipped its first batch to the Swiss office of Creso Pharma, an Australian pharmaceutical company it is in the process of purchasing for AU$122 million.
David Attard, chief executive at PharmaCielo, said the inaugural shipment was “symbolic on many levels”.
“PharmaCielo is the first medicinal cannabis company to commercially export cannabis derived isolates from Colombia to Switzerland, the global capital of the pharma industry,” he said. Particularly pleasing is the fact that the first batch we ever exported went to Creso Pharma, our trusted partner soon to be part of our Company.”
PharmaCielo is headquartered in Ontario, but it bills itself as Colombia’s premier cultivator and producer of medicinal-grade cannabis oil. It recently announced a sales agreement covering Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and southern Brazil with distributor Laboratorios Adler, and now it is targeting Europe too.
Creso Pharma is an Australian company, but its main operation is in Switzerland and it also has cultivation facilities in Canada, Colombia, and Israel. The firm has listings in 13 countries for its range of products.
Its board has endorsed PharmaCielo’s takeover and it is due to close next month. The idea is to create a vertically integrated global supply chain, with operations in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Australia, and New Zealand.
When the deal is complete, Creso shareholders will hold around 13% of the capital in the merged entity, while Creso co-founder and chief executive Miri Halperin will join the board.
But the two firms are already benefiting from synergies, as Laboratorios Adler has agreed to sell Creso’s products in Latin America, while Creso is now distributing PharmaCielo’s products in Europe after receiving the CBD isolate.
Colombia is shaping up to be a major supplier within the global marijuana industry, due to the favourable growing conditions and cheap labour costs, so many North American operators are piling in.
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