An analysis of the current and potential market opportunities for hempseed and fibre: the case of Scotland?

Abstract Background The growing demand for eco-friendly food and industrial products have renewed interest in industrial hemp which is a low-cost, biodegradable, sustainable, and multi-purpose plant. Many countries in Europe and Asia have changed their laws to take advantage of the tremendous benefi...

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Main Authors: Wisdom Dogbe, Cesar Revoredo-Giha, Wendy Russell
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-01-01
Series:Agriculture & Food Security
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s40066-024-00511-2
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author Wisdom Dogbe
Cesar Revoredo-Giha
Wendy Russell
author_facet Wisdom Dogbe
Cesar Revoredo-Giha
Wendy Russell
author_sort Wisdom Dogbe
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background The growing demand for eco-friendly food and industrial products have renewed interest in industrial hemp which is a low-cost, biodegradable, sustainable, and multi-purpose plant. Many countries in Europe and Asia have changed their laws to take advantage of the tremendous benefits that industrial hemp present. However, the development of the sector in Scotland is very slow due to stringent laws. The goal of the present study is to present policymakers with economic data on the current and potential market opportunities for industrial hemp, trends in new product development, and the state of the hemp supply chain. This study entails desk-based research primary and secondary data analysis. Primary data were collected from farmers in Aberdeenshire and Scottish borders, and secondary data were collected from the FAOSTATS Office of National Statistics and the Global New Product Database. Results The results of this study show that the opportunities from hemp seed and fibre are vast: hemp can sequester more carbon dioxide than traditional crops can, improve soil biodiversity, extract toxins from soil through phytoremediation, be used as an eco-friendly insecticide and pesticide, and provide an excellent source of protein, fibre and micronutrient vitamins and minerals, as well as a range of bioactive phytochemicals. The GNPD reveals that over 4000 hemp-based products have been launched worldwide. However, the supply chain for Scottish-grown hemp faces significant bottlenecks. The sector lacks a well-established market route, faces a high licensing costs, lacks hemp seed-pressing centres, etc. Conclusion This study is relevant because it is the first study to provide a comprehensive analysis of the industrial hemp sector in Scotland. This study makes time-bound recommendations to grow the hemp sector in Scotland, which include regular extension services, easy access to licences for production, the establishment of a hempseed and fibre processing plants, and seed production centre.
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spelling doaj-art-19dad73f09c04ae797c5755d8359e58a2025-01-26T12:47:20ZengBMCAgriculture & Food Security2048-70102025-01-0113112710.1186/s40066-024-00511-2An analysis of the current and potential market opportunities for hempseed and fibre: the case of Scotland?Wisdom Dogbe0Cesar Revoredo-Giha1Wendy Russell2Rowett Institute, University of AberdeenScotland’s Rural College (SRUC)Rowett Institute, University of AberdeenAbstract Background The growing demand for eco-friendly food and industrial products have renewed interest in industrial hemp which is a low-cost, biodegradable, sustainable, and multi-purpose plant. Many countries in Europe and Asia have changed their laws to take advantage of the tremendous benefits that industrial hemp present. However, the development of the sector in Scotland is very slow due to stringent laws. The goal of the present study is to present policymakers with economic data on the current and potential market opportunities for industrial hemp, trends in new product development, and the state of the hemp supply chain. This study entails desk-based research primary and secondary data analysis. Primary data were collected from farmers in Aberdeenshire and Scottish borders, and secondary data were collected from the FAOSTATS Office of National Statistics and the Global New Product Database. Results The results of this study show that the opportunities from hemp seed and fibre are vast: hemp can sequester more carbon dioxide than traditional crops can, improve soil biodiversity, extract toxins from soil through phytoremediation, be used as an eco-friendly insecticide and pesticide, and provide an excellent source of protein, fibre and micronutrient vitamins and minerals, as well as a range of bioactive phytochemicals. The GNPD reveals that over 4000 hemp-based products have been launched worldwide. However, the supply chain for Scottish-grown hemp faces significant bottlenecks. The sector lacks a well-established market route, faces a high licensing costs, lacks hemp seed-pressing centres, etc. Conclusion This study is relevant because it is the first study to provide a comprehensive analysis of the industrial hemp sector in Scotland. This study makes time-bound recommendations to grow the hemp sector in Scotland, which include regular extension services, easy access to licences for production, the establishment of a hempseed and fibre processing plants, and seed production centre.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40066-024-00511-2Industrial hempSupply chainCarbon sequestrationGNPDScotland
spellingShingle Wisdom Dogbe
Cesar Revoredo-Giha
Wendy Russell
An analysis of the current and potential market opportunities for hempseed and fibre: the case of Scotland?
Agriculture & Food Security
Industrial hemp
Supply chain
Carbon sequestration
GNPD
Scotland
title An analysis of the current and potential market opportunities for hempseed and fibre: the case of Scotland?
title_full An analysis of the current and potential market opportunities for hempseed and fibre: the case of Scotland?
title_fullStr An analysis of the current and potential market opportunities for hempseed and fibre: the case of Scotland?
title_full_unstemmed An analysis of the current and potential market opportunities for hempseed and fibre: the case of Scotland?
title_short An analysis of the current and potential market opportunities for hempseed and fibre: the case of Scotland?
title_sort analysis of the current and potential market opportunities for hempseed and fibre the case of scotland
topic Industrial hemp
Supply chain
Carbon sequestration
GNPD
Scotland
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s40066-024-00511-2
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