The Covid-19 pandemic has imposed a bottle-neck on the business aspirations of various companies like Sannabis. This Colombian company wanted to raise hemp in Uruguay. It even gained all the necessary permissions from U.S. authorities to export hemp in the U.S. But things took a down-turn amidst the recent market disruptions.
Sannabis is a subsidiary of View Systems Inc. a U.S. based security firm. It started growing hemp from January and also attained a permit from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. With this permit, it was supposed to bring the complete hemp plant consisting of flowers. John Campo, the president of Sannabis revealed to Hemp Industry Daily that, “I believe it is an important step, to be able to import the seeds, the roots, the stems, the leaves –everything into the U.S., and we’re kind of establishing relationships right now.”
Both ground and air transportation has substantially slowed down as a result of this global coronavirus pandemic. This has hugely impacted Sannabis which was unable to ship any hemp. The final certifications which were expected to be received from the Uruguayan authorities have also been put on hold. All of these have made the Sannabis president unsure about their future export plans.
Hemp Industry Daily had tried to enquire the U.S. Customs and Border Protection about U.S. hemp imports since its legalisation lacked in 2018. But no response was received till date. View Systems, the parent company of Sannabis wishes to make it a standalone firm. Campo pointed out that the aim is to create a “joint venture with a company in the U.S. or anywhere in the world.” This venture is going to seek out marijuana or hemp cultivars dwelling in Uruguay. According to Campo, the Sannabis hemp farm presently has about 27 acres of land which can be used to grow cannabis on contractual basis for interested companies.
Sannabis had applied for the registration of around 150 cannabis strains in Colombia. But the approval is still pending as of today. The plants have to be exported from Uruguay since the export of raw cannabis flower is prohibited by Colombia. As of September 2019, a dozen other companies held licenses of growing hemp in Uruguay like Sannabis. But Campo’s company was still in troubled waters due to a legal dispute. It had even hired a lawyer who could help them approach the Uruguayan Ministry of Health and attain a special export permit.
A phytosanitary report is also required certifying the health of hemp plants. Sannabis has not managed to attain that report till date but plans to do so down the line. Although the process got delayed due to coronavirus onset, Campo is hopeful that his Uruguayan operation is going to fair well in the U.S soil. He revealed that “North American hemp and MMJ companies are looking to build relationships in South America; we have a strong foothold and make ideal partners.” He also added that he plans on selling hemp plants having THC limits of 0.3% or less, which are in sync with legal import guidelines.
