Tilray completes first harvest in Portugal

Since its creation in 2013, Canadian medical cannabis producer Tilray has secured its leadership position in the global cannabis industry. In particular, the company had its moment of glory last September when the value of its shares listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange had increased by more than 100%. Today, it has reached a new milestone with the completion of its first harvest in Europe by its Portuguese subsidiary: Tilray Portugal Unipessoal Lda.

Tilray Portugal, an open door to Europe

Tilray has invested around €20 million in its Portuguese facilities. These cover 250,000 m² at Cantanhede in northern Portugal. They include indoor, outdoor and greenhouse cultivation sites, as well as research laboratories and facilities for processing, packaging and distributing by-products to the Portuguese market. cannabinoids.

These vertically integrated structures guarantee the company's control over the entire production chain. in situ ; all it has to do is distribute its products on the European market. For the moment, the plant employs around a hundred people, but the company says that now that production has started and the pace is set to accelerate, this figure is likely to double.

«Our harvest in Portugal is an important milestone for the company as we continue to build our multinational supply chain of high-quality medical cannabis.» explains Sascha Mielcarek, Tilray's Managing Director for Europe. «We look forward to using Tilray Portugal's capacity to supply the European medical cannabis market and continue to expand our operations.

Tilray, always in the right place at the right time

Cannabis multinationals are vying for the European market because it is the most promising market in terms of both growth and revenue. Tilray was the first company to export medical cannabis to Europe, in 2016 to Croatia. It was also the first North American company to receive GMP certification from the European health authorities (EMA). This certification corresponds to the production standards in force in the European Union. It is a prerequisite for distribution on the European market.

Tilray has secured its leadership position through a series of important commercial agreements. These include its alliance with Sandoz AG, a subsidiary of the Novartis group, the world's 4th largest pharmaceutical company. Tilray recently acquired Canadian producer Natura Holdings, increasing its production capacity by 17 %, as well as the hemp food company Manitoba Holdings. Cannabis in food, and especially in beverages, promises to be a major consumer trend extremely lucrative for companies. Tilray has already secured a partnership with AB InBev, the world's largest brewery group to create cannabis-infused beverages.