NZ HEMP EXPORT DRIVEN INVESTOR SNAPSHOT Snapshot | Page 22

22 Investor Report Industrial Hemp Sector New Zealand ’ s New Export Opportunity 2020

The Kentucky State Case Study- A Glimpse of the Economic benefit of supportive political leadership

• Kentucky is a state with a population of 4.67 million - comparable to New Zealand . It has a large hemp industry which has developed in a very short time . Before hemp was banned again after World War 2 , Kentucky was the leading hemp-producing state in America . Mitch McConnell , the senator for Kentucky , and the US Senate Republican leader , is an ardent supporter of the hemp industry . He counselled the President to sign the 2018 Farm Bill enabling the commercial rise of hemp in his home state and across the USA
• Scenario 2 in New Zealand would look a lot like the rise of the Kentucky Hemp CBD Industry . Kentucky shows the economic impact of an accelerated growth of the hemp / CBD industry
• Kentucky is positioning itself as the leading Hemp state in the USA with strong leadership from the State Department of Agriculture , local Hemp Research bodies , and the major Hemp manufacturing companies .
• New Zealand and Kentucky have a similar recent history in regard to hemp as the key legislation for both states occurred in late 2018 . Both stages have seen a surge of hemp investment and growth but on different economic trajectories . The stark difference is that Kentucky has been able to process the whole hemp plant including the cannabinoids , especially CBD , whilst NZ Hemp has only been able to process seed and fibre .