Ann: Request For Voluntary Suspension extension 7 days, page-193

Although much of the focus at present is on the THC-containing medical cannabis, plus the potential of recreational cannabis, and while I have no doubt that those markets will generate some very large profits within a couple of years, I believe that the even bigger story is in hemp. Hemp food products will become a massive market, hemp CBD products will become a very large pharmaceutical market, and industrial uses for hemp fibre will grow exponentially as production ramps up.

There are probably about 20 cannabis companies already active or about to become active in Australia, including the overseas controlled businesses such as the Cronos/New Southern Capital venture in Northern NSW, and the Chrome Holdings/MYM/PUF Solaris Nutraceuticals venture, also in Northern NSW.

Of those 20 or so companies, probably 4 or 5 will become Australian-based but internationally-engaged major players, and another 4 or 5 will become successful niche players. The rest will probably struggle and eventually be swallowed up by the more successful companies.

Two companies stand out from the crowd for me, because in addition to their cannabis divisions, they already have established hemp growing, processing and marketing divisions already generating significant revenue in Australia, and internationally in EXL's case, and I'm expecting that EXL and QBL's subsidiary MCL will become two of the most successful companies in the cannabis/hemp market.