The cultivation area for industrial hemp within the EU is now the largest it’s been since the second world war, the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) reports.

Hemp is a multi-purpose crop with a considerable amount of its fibre being converted into nonwovens for use in composites, as well as insulation material.

In addition, the plant’s shivs – the woody inner core of the stem – are used for animal bedding and construction, while hemp seeds have a high nutritional value and can be consumed raw or pressed into hemp seed oil, which has an excellent and unique fatty acid profile. Both seeds and oil are used for human food and animal feed. The non-psychotropic Cannabinoid CBD is an interesting pharmaceutical material and food supplement ingredient also derived from industrial hemp.