Solnechnogorsk to Begin Industrial Hemp Cultivation and Processing

The administration of Solnechnogorsk, a city in the Moscow region, has approved a project for the cultivation and processing of industrial hemp, developed by Mordovsky Penkozavod LLC. According to experts, the Solnechnogorsk complex will become one of the largest in Russia.

Hemp Sowing Planned for 2021

The project, titled “Revival of Industrial Hemp Cultivation,” is currently in the land search phase, with officials working alongside the Russian Hemp Producers Association and Mordovsky Penkozavod LLC to identify suitable municipal and private plots. The project will be implemented in three stages:

• Cultivation of the plant for seeds and straw production
• Primary processing of hemp to produce hurds and fiber
• Advanced processing of hemp to manufacture raw materials for industrial goods (biodegradable tableware, biocomposites, cotton wool, cellulose, threads), cosmetics, and food products (oil, flour, protein bars, protein)

The total investment is estimated at 8.6 billion rubles, and 600 jobs will be created. The plan is to sow hemp on 5,000 hectares by 2021. In the second stage, a processing plant will be built. Finished products will be supplied to retail stores, while fiber will be sent to textile enterprises in China and the Ivanovo, Vologda, and Kostroma regions.

Hemp Acreage to Double by 2025

In September, the Ministry of Agriculture published a report on the prospects for hemp cultivation in Russia. The document states that in 2019, hemp was sown on 10,200 hectares. The ministry forecasts this figure will rise to 20,000 hectares by 2025. For comparison, in 2010, hemp was cultivated on just 870 hectares, meaning the volume will have increased 23-fold over 15 years.

This year, hemp was not cultivated in the Moscow region, so Mordovsky Penkozavod will be the first company to start growing the plant in the area. The Ministry of Agriculture’s presentation lists three hemp processing plants scheduled to open by 2022 (in the Nizhny Novgorod, Kursk, and Penza regions), with a combined capacity of 9,000 tons per year.

Russia Lags Behind the U.S. in Industrial Hemp Scale

This year, American farmers received licenses to cultivate industrial hemp on 206,390 hectares. The actual sown area was 93,000 hectares—almost nine times more than in Russia. Licenses for hemp processing were issued to 2,880 enterprises. In the U.S., hemp cultivation increased by 455% in a single year. If all registered farmland is planted with hemp, the total area will more than double compared to current levels.