South Africa Hemp Industry – Business Plan Templates

The population in South Africa is estimated at 62 million and is growing at about 2% per year. If this trend in population growth persists there will be nearly 82 million people living in South Africa by the year 2035. South Africa has a total surface area of 122 million ha, of which almost 86% is used for agriculture, 74% being natural veld and 14% arable land.

Population 2024 (m)	62.47
GDP 2024 (US$ b)	373.23
Arable land (million ha)	17.1
Source: World Bank, IMF

“Sustainable farming is about meeting the needs of South Africans today and in the future.” – WWF.

Africa Hemp CBD Industry

In South Africa, the law, valid until the end of May 2020, allowed the sale and use of some CBD products over the counter. In June 2020, the country exempted industrial hemp with less than 0.2% THC from medical control and rescheduled CBD to be regulated as a supplement on schedule 0:

CBD medication marketed for general health, or the “relief of minor symptoms” containing no more than 600 mg of CBD per pack and provide a maximum daily dose of 20 mg.
Ingestible products derived from raw biomass that contain no more than 0.0075% total CBD and only the naturally occurring cannabinoids found in the source material.

In 2023, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) issued a total of 664 licenses in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. The permits authorize the farmers to grow, store and transport cannabis with less than 0.2% THC – the dividing line between hemp and marijuana in South Africa. South Africa’s cannabis/CBD industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 28.4% between 2022 and 2026.

Africa Hemp CBD Industry Infographics

Business Plan Sample for a Hemp Cultivation and Processing Business in South Africa

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'70% ready to go' business plan templates

Our hemp/CBD financial models and business plan templates will help you estimate how much it costs to start and operate your own hemp/CBD business, to build all revenue and cost line-items monthly over a flexible seven year period, and then summarize the monthly results into quarters and years for an easy view into the various time periods. We also offer investor pitch deck templates.