Chinese CBD producers warned that a proposed ban on industrial hemp derivatives in cosmetics would force complete reliance on exports. Attention turned to China's National Institutes for Food and Drug Control.
Industry leaders said the proposal would ban hemp flowers, seed oil and extracts, primarily affecting CBD cosmetics, the only category Chinese consumers could legally purchase.
Hankang Yunnan Biotechnology Corp general manager Pan Zongbing told Global Times that implementation would close the domestic industrial hemp cosmetics market, leaving exports as possibly the only route to survival.
A public consultation notice released the previous week hurt Chinese hemp stocks early that week. Meilleure Health International Industry Group fell about 15%, while leading pharmaceutical producer Yunnan Baiyao declined 6.89%.
According to financial data provider Tonghuashun, 54 industrial hemp companies were listed on China's A-share market, with combined capitalization exceeding 500 billion yuan ($76.21 billion).
More than 60 companies produced CBD in Yunnan and Heilongjiang, the only provinces permitting legal cultivation and processing. In Yunnan, an important supplier for fast-growing global markets such as vaping, medicines and pet food, 12 businesses were authorized to extract and process CBD.
