Hemp cultivation acreages in Europe have tripled over the last five years, from 8 000 ha in 2011 to almost 25 000 ha in 2016. According to the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA), an industry association representing the interests of hemp growers, processors, users and researchers, the increase reflects a growing demand for different raw materials obtained from the multi-purpose crop. Earlier this year German Hemp fibres are used in the automotive industry as well as in insulation and speciality paper production. They are particularly well established as material for natural fibre composites (NFCs) used for the reinforcement of automotive interior parts. Overall global demand for NFCs, irrespective of the natural fibre type used, has been growing continuously as an increasingly number of light-weight construction applications seek to replace fossil-based components. According to EIHA, European hemp fibre can meet increasing demands – if the demand is communicated before the sowing time in March offsetting the limited availability of other exotic natural fibres.
Furthermore EIHA notes that hemp seeds are becoming an important factor in both functional and supplement food industries having entered the mainstream market. Farmers throughout Europe are discovering hemp as an alternative crop for the production of hulled hemp seeds, protein powder and oil with high nutritional value. Recently Hanf Farm GmbH, a German hemp producer became the world’s first to receive International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC PLUS) for its hemp raw material suggesting that industrial hemp is gaining momentum as a multi-purpose biomass crop.
5240/AS
