The European Industrial Hemp Association will hold its annual conference in Poznań, Poland, from June 10 to 12, 2026, in partnership with the Polish Institute of Natural Fibres and Medicinal Plants, known as IWNIRZ, a national research institute running botanical and fiber research since 1930. Francesco Mirizzi, managing director of EIHA, has been putting the program together with a specific intent. "Our objective in Poznań is to move the conversation from potential to performance," he says.
The three-day structure opens on June 10 with the EIHA General Assembly, reserved for association members to address internal policy and the 2027 strategic roadmap. With around 250 expected delegates, the international conference and exhibition will follow on June 11 and 12, closing with a gala dinner.
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The program covers the full industrial hemp value chain, with dedicated sessions on composites, textiles, construction, food, feed, and cosmetics. "This conference is about understanding the markets, the supply and the demand, and how to build a value chain from scratch." June 11 opens with plenary sessions on value chain development, featuring Remi Loren from Ekolution on Sweden's hemp supply chain, the Polish Hemp Program run by IWNIRZ itself, and Estelle Delange on the Chanvre cluster in France. Lorenzo Romanese, secretary general of EUBP, will moderate a session on composites, bioplastics, and packaging. A full session is dedicated to harvesting machinery, and an international panel will bring together some of the largest industrial hemp processors in the United States.
June 12 runs three parallel tracks covering food and feed, textiles, and construction. The University of Aberdeen will present nutritional research on hemp beyond oil and seeds. The CBD and extracts session will address the regulatory outlook, with a focus on the UK market. "We are waiting to see what happens with CBD isolate as a novel food in the UK," Francesco says. "Authorization should come before the end of the year." A final panel on carbon credits is also being confirmed.
The partnership with IWNIRZ doens't stop at the show venue. A site visit on June 12 will take delegates to a seed multiplication field and a stalk processing facility, where autonomous robotic farming equipment and large-scale primary processing operations will be on display. "The idea is that whoever wants to work with hemp and structure a value chain can understand how to start," Francesco says. "It is not about buying a ton of fiber or seed. It is about networking, understanding where the sector stands, and finding the right partners."
For more information:
European Industrial Hemp Association
[email protected]
eiha.org/
