Felbridge has successfully exported its first shipment of cannabis in-vitro tissue culture to a licensed producer in North Macedonia.
"The shipment was dispatched from the Cape Town International Airport and establishes Felbridge as a provider of quality cannabis starting materials, meeting all phytosanitary and regulatory requirements, for the international medical cannabis market," Felbridge team explains.
Felbridge recently signed a co-operation agreement with Perfect Plants, a leading biogenetics company based in the Netherlands, enabling it to expand its starter material offering by utilizing Perfect Plants’ extensive genetic library and distributing same through in-vitro tissue culture, seeds or young plants for on-sale into global markets.
Leslie Zetler, Chief Executive Officer of Felbridge, commented “Exporting South Africa’s first shipment of cannabis in-vitro tissue culture to Europe represents another major milestone not only for our Group but for South Africa’s emerging cannabis and hemp industries as we look to tap into the global market place. With a solid pipeline of genetically superior strains available and sourced from our production partners, we aim to become the leading provider of cannabis and hemp starter materials in Africa serving both the local and international market with high quality pharmaceutical grade products.”
Wayne Nathanson, Chairman of Perfect Plants, added “Our collaboration with Felbridge has enabled us both to open and develop new markets where cannabis and hemp can be legally grown on a commercial scale. We are proud to have assisted Felbridge in this historic first export and look forward to opening new markets together in other geographic regions.”
Felbridge recently obtained full member status of the South African National Seed Organization (SANSOR) and plans to commence cannabis and hemp seed production in the second half of 2021. It is also the licensed distributor for Swiss based Puregene for the African market and distributes their genetics via seeds, cuttings or rooted clones established from in-vitro tissue culture.
The use of tissue culture as a starting material has numerous benefits for cultivators in that one can source higher quality, disease and pathogen-free plants from consistent genetics which will improve yields and profitability whilst reducing costs in that production and growth cycles are shortened and growing space reduced accordingly.
“We have seen tremendous demand for our starter material offering and our order book continues to grow. Through the various partnerships that we have formed to date, we believe that we are building a sustainable business that will enable us to offer innovative products and services which we are committed to providing in line with the regulatory framework provided by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority. This will enable Felbridge to generate significant export revenue for the economy as well as provide employment opportunities, skills development and future investment into the sector.” added Mr. Zetler.
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felbridge.co.za