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The first successful export of Australian hemp seed to New Zealand has been completed under amended legislation designed to remove cumbersome regulatory barriers for the industry.
According to the Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud, the legislation was changed to cut red tape, bust congestion in regulation and enable agricultural industries to remain resilient in the current economic environment.
He also says the Federal Government will support exporters with access to emerging markets in order to ensure legitimate exporters can thrive.
"The new legislation removes unnecessary barriers and will support better access to international markets for the emerging hemp and medicinal cannabis industries," says Littleproud.
"To help us achieve this, we need to ensure that we have appropriate regulatory settings to enable exports to grow and in turn to help drive productivity and increase returns at the farm gate.
"For Australian farmers, reliable access to overseas markets means increased profitability and certainty for further investment in their properties and people."
Under the new legislation hemp product exports which may be better supported include seeds, raw hemp and hemp food products, such as de-hulled hemp seeds and health powders containing hemp.
The changes to the export legislation follows the government permitting the sale and consumption of low-THC hemp seed foods in November 2017.
Those changes allowed producers the opportunity to access a growing global industry estimated to be worth more than $500 million.
According to Littleproud, from 2015 to 2018 phytosanitary assurance was provided for 18,320kg of exported cannabis seed to markets in Korea, the United States, Uruguay and Malawi.
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