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Cannabis Prices Plummet in Thailand Due to Oversupply
Cannabis growers in northeastern Thailand have requested assistance from the government in controlling prices after prices declined due to an overabundance of the plant.
Jirawat Rungsri, 56, the president of the Medicinal Herbs Community Enterprise of Na Kham in the Sri Songkhram district, claimed Wednesday that the plant’s price fell sharply once the government started permitting individuals to cultivate it.
Only growers who had approval from hospitals, medical centres, and universities were authorized to grow the plant before it was delisted as a narcotic earlier this year.
According to Mr. Jirawat, he founded the organization to cultivate cannabis for therapeutic purposes in 2020 in partnership with Tambon Na Kham Health Promotion Hospital.
He claimed that when the organization began, it had 30 members and raised roughly 30,000 plants.
Members of the organization were able to make 50,000–100,000 baht per month selling cannabis plant parts like buds, leaves, and roots during the first harvest, he claimed.
Cannabis costs have, however, fallen dramatically since then.
“Since everyone can cultivate cannabis today and does not need a permit to do so, we have more rivals who drive down the price of cannabis,” he said.
He said the cost of fresh marijuana leaves has dropped from 15,000 Thai Baht per kilogram to just 3,000. He claimed that while fresh stems were once sold for 10,000 baht per kg, they are now only worth $1,000.
According to him, the government has been requested by marijuana growers in Nakhon Phanom to assist by setting rates that producers and consumers can adhere to.
According to him, roughly 20 community businesses in Nakhon Phanom intend to form a cooperative so that they may haggle pricing with middlemen with more clout.
Source: Bangkok Post