Rhizo Sciences announces construction of 400,000 square foot export facility in Lesotho, Africa to meet growing international medical cannabis export demand.

Rhizo Sciences LLC, a Seattle, Washington based medical cannabis company today announced plans to partner with Medi Kingdom Holdings (Pty) Ltd to build the $50M medical cannabis export facility in Lesotho, Africa.

Medi Kingdom Holdings are the first and largest licensed medical cannabis producer in Africa. They began growing their first crop in 2016 and will export their first product in January 2018. Medi Kingdom currently operate from 3 sites in the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho, well known for its high quality cannabis growing environment.

The new cGMP certified export facility will include 35,000 m2 (375,000 sf) of secure climate controlled greenhouses and 25,000 square feet of pharmaceutical grade extraction and manufacturing plant and equipment on a 20 hectare site.

Under the agreement Rhizo Sciences will design, build and manage the new $50M facility for Medi Kingdom Holdings. Rhizo Sciences will also purchase the entire production output of the facility, which will exceed 35,000 kg of cannabis flower annually. The facility will export wholesale flower and extracts as well as manufacturing pharmaceutical grade products with an estimated wholesale value of $150M to $200M annually.

“This new production and processing centre will make Medi Kingdom the largest medical cannabis producer in the Eastern Hemisphere, and enable us to export cannabis flower, oil and products to all legal medicinal cannabis markets including Canada, Germany, UK and Australia” said James Mather, CEO of Medi Kingdom. “We will be creating a mini Cannabis University to help to train the hundreds of people the project will employ, and to develop the industry in Lesotho and the rest of Africa.”

The new partnership takes advantage from Medi Kingdom’s significant licensed production capacity, cultivation expertise and genetics, and Rhizo Science’s cGMP manufacturing capability and international market access.

“Lesotho is the perfect location to grow high quality, low cost cannabis due to the clean environment, intense high altitude sunlight, cheap electricity and affordable workforce.” said Justin Khuu, CEO of Rhizo Sciences. “These new light deprivation greenhouses and our proprietary cannabis cultivation technology means we can harvest 5 crops of pesticide-free, high potency flower every year for pennies on the dollar compared to our North American operations. Our cGAP (Good Agricultural Practices) process ensures the flower will be consistent from batch to batch and can be exported to countries such as Germany that permit the sale of flower. Everything will be tested by an independent ISO certified analytic testing laboratory. This approach sets us apart from other low cost producers like South America and exceeds the standards of most Canadian companies.”

The project ties into Rhizo Sciences’ strategic vision to develop a global platform for manufacturing and distribution of full spectrum and pharmaceutical grade cannabis products.

“This new facility will help us to accelerate patient access to safe, effective and affordable cannabis medicines medicines. The ability to export medical cannabis internationally gives us unrivalled market access and positions Medi Kingdom and Rhizo Sciences as leaders in the emerging cannabis-derived pharmaceutical industry, which is projected to reach $50 Billion in sales by 2029.” said Dr Dallas McMillan, President of Rhizo Sciences. “There is strong demand from Canada where major producers are preparing for a shortage of medicinal cannabis as they transition to recreational legalisation.”

The Lesotho partnership will ensure Rhizo Sciences can meet rising demand for medical cannabis products in Canada, Australasia, and Europe, and fulfil its manufacturing and sales contracts with pharma/biotech and medical device companies.

Development on the new site has already begun and Rhizo Sciences expects to begin exporting refined oil and medical products to Canada, Germany, UK, Australia and New Zealand when the new facility commences production in May 2018