BC's legal cannabis crop is reaching new highs, ranking as the top cash crop by value – ahead of both fresh fruits and vegetables. Canada legalized cannabis in 2018, and since then it has become a major agricultural crop. Last year, licensed cannabis producers contributed $10.6 billion to Canada's GDP.
In BC, Statistics Canada reports farm cash receipts for "Cannabis seeds, vegetative plants and flowering tops (including leaves)" totalled $636 million last year, firmly positioning cannabis ahead of fresh fruits ($482 million) for the second consecutive year.
Cannabis first outstripped the value of fruit production in 2022, generating roughly $475 million against approximately $465 million for fruit. Statscan's fruit category encompasses such iconic BC crops as apples, blueberries, grapes, strawberries and cranberries. This major growth in cannabis revenues continues even as numerous farms have closed or changed hands in recent years.
Alberta-based Decibel Cannabis Co. Inc. announced the sale of its cannabis production site in Creston on February 25, explaining in a press release that the move will allow Decibel to consolidate operations at a site in Saskatchewan. The deal is part of a string of transactions as the maturing sector experiences both market challenges and significant consolidation.
Read more at Country Life in BC
