Counting the Cost of Covid on the Hemp Industry

The turmoil of Covid-19 lockdowns and the impact it had on farming hemp is still being counted. A key source for CBD, hemp farming is also used in clothing, cosmetics, building materials and more. Growing was largely interrupted either by wholesale shutdowns or reduced capacity during the tightest period of lockdown worldwide. But hemp supply remains bigger than demand as a rush of early investors entered the marketplace.

These speculators may now be reflecting on their choices. Speaking to Nutritional Outlook, Eric Steenstra, Vote Hemp’s president, said that 2020 was a year of consolidation, a “survival of the fittest” within the industry— a trend he believes will continue into 2021. Meanwhile hemp industry leaders said that many of them had taken the pause to develop new products, write books or rethink their business processes. It will be interesting to see what evolves from the downtime.