STAMFORD, Conn. – Valuable business insight for the CBD and hemp industry could soon be expanding. For years, data analytics firms have been helping cannabis producers and dispensaries gain key insights to help drive their businesses. CME Group operates New Leaf Data Services, an analytics firm with Cannabis Benchmarks, a division that provides financial, business, and industry data for North American cannabis markets. CME and New Leaf Data accomplish this through DataMine, a self-service online data platform. Now, New Leaf Data Services has launched data from Hemp Benchmarks with the goal of allowing DataMine customers the ability to wholesale hemp pricing data.
“CME Group is continually exploring new ways to help our DataMine customers make the most informed trading decisions,” said Trey Berre, global head of data services at CME Group. “Market participants use our historical market data to test strategies, as well as gauge potential profitability and risks in a variety of different markets. As the U.S. hemp market continues to grow, we expect this benchmark hemp pricing data from Hemp Benchmarks to aid our customers’ trading and hedging strategies.”
The U.S. hemp market’s value is expected to reach approximately $20 billion by 2025. Hemp and CBD derived from hemp have been gaining considerable value and popularity in recent years, especially since the 2018 Farm Bill was passed. The bill removed hemp and its derivatives with low levels of the psychoactive cannabinoid, THC, from the Controlled Substances Act. The Food and Drug Administration has set the limit of THC permitted in legal hemp and CBD products to be no greater than 0.3 percent THC.
Beyond CBD’s recent rise in popularity, hemp has a long history with a wide variety of uses. Many consider it a more eco-friendly alternative to traditional textiles and fabrics, making its potential for future growth exciting for business owners and investors.
“Hemp is an emerging commodity with a broad range of existing applications across wellness and health products, textiles, building materials, and biofuels,” said Jonathan Rubin, chief executive officer for Hemp Benchmarks.. “Our industry-leading Hemp Benchmarks data provides a comprehensive and transparent view of wholesale pricing, and we are pleased to be able to offer our data to CME Group’s market data customers around the world.”
