Ukraine Launches Nation’s Largest Industrial Hemp Processing Plant
Hemp harvests have to be processed before they are incorporated into finished products and shipped to the markets where they will eventually be sold, with some limited exceptions. A nation’s hemp industry will never reach its full potential without proper processing facilities.
With that in mind, Ukraine’s emerging industrial hemp industry passed a major milestone with the recent launch of the nation’s largest hemp processing plant. The Ma’Ryzhany Hemp Company’s new facility is located in the Ma’Ryzhany industrial park in the Zhytomyr region and is estimated to be capable of processing up to 14,000 tons of hemp annually.
“Developing our own processing is one of the key tasks of the government’s policy “Made in Ukraine” and part of the national economic idea. We must change the structure of the economy from raw materials to high-tech and increase the production of goods with high added value.” Ukraine’s Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko stated, according to a government press release (translated from Ukrainian to English).
“Restoring the primary processing of hemp trust is one of the key elements for the further revival of industrial hemp, which once made Ukraine a powerful player in the global textile market. The presence of its own domestic raw materials is difficult to overestimate – it is the basis of price competitiveness. In addition, industrial hemp is not just a raw material for textiles, but an ecological and renewable resource for dozens of other industries. And the reconstruction of the textile chain is only the beginning of the great industrial potential that “Ma’Ryzhany Hemp Company” is laying today,” stated Ma’Ryzhany Hemp Company Director Andriy Mykytiv.
The goal of the industrial park where the new hemp processing facility is located is “to attract businesses working with industrial hemp processing products and create over 700 new jobs. The work of the park will also stimulate farmers to grow industrial hemp in the Zhytomyr region and contribute to the development of a sustainable industrial hemp ecosystem in Ukraine.”
Ukraine’s new industrial hemp processing plant is designed to produce long fiber for textiles and technical fabrics, short fiber for paper, nonwovens, and insulation, and raw material for bioplastics, building materials, and animal bedding.
The launch of the facility comes at a time when Europe’s industrial hemp industry potential is being researched at an increasing rate. For example, a team of researchers affiliated with the University of Göttingen recently examined industrial hemp from the perspective of its prospects as a sustainable crop for modern agriculture in Germany.
“Industrial hemp offers promising prospects for agriculture. Its ecological advantages, such as improved soil structure and CO2 sequestration, as well as the economic potential offered by dual-use land and low or no need for pesticides, make it a sustainable addition to crop rotation.” the researchers concluded. “With the right strategy, industrial hemp can make a valuable contribution to sustainable agriculture, especially when economies of scale, stable sales contracts, and effective integration into crop rotation systems are considered.”
The University of Göttingen’s findings built on other recent hemp-focused sustainability research, including a study led by researchers affiliated with the University of Banja Luka, the University of Belgrade, and the University of Niš, which found that raw hemp can be used as an effective and eco-friendly alternative for removing toxic dye chemicals from wastewater.
During a recent presentation at the International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin, leading international cannabis industry economist Beau Whitney, founder of Whitney Economics, provided data demonstrating that the value of the global industrial hemp industry could be as much as $456.2 billion.