AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND CANNABIS EXTRACTION & ANALYTICAL TESTING MARKET FORECAST 2023-2028

Australia is one of the biggest importers of unapproved medical cannabis products and cannabis for scientific purposes globally, along with Israel and Germany. Importation in Australia has seen significant growth, notably since 2018, when approximately 961 kilograms (2,119 pounds) of such products were brought into the nation, according to data provided by the Department of Health. Australia’s medicinal cannabis market is experiencing substantial growth, with approximately 40 companies engaged in the sector being publicly listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX); the top 20 of these companies collectively boast a market capitalization exceeding $2 billion. Patients in Australia typically obtain medical cannabis through government-regulated programs – the Special Access Scheme Category B (SAS-B) system or from an authorized prescriber.

The New Zealand Government has partnered with the country’s largest as well as only organic-certified medicinal cannabis grower in order to propel the industry’s growth. Currently, the market is lucrative in terms of promoting such a high-value industry, as international demand for medicinal cannabis takes off while New Zealand experts are on the rise. In addition to the legalization and resulting cultural acceptance of medical cannabis in more markets globally, increasing demand for pain management products and preference for plant-based medicine are expected to be significant factors driving the New Zealand cannabis extraction & analytical testing market growth during the forecast period. 

The Australia & New Zealand cannabis extraction & analytic testing market is segmented into equipment type, service, and extraction method. The extraction method segment includes Co2-based extraction, alcohol/ethanol-based extraction, hydrocarbon-based extraction, vegetable oil-based extraction, solventless extraction, and other extraction methods. 

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the most widely used options in the cannabis extraction market. This method is also utilized in other extraction markets, such as coffee for decaffeination and other vegetable products for oil production. In its operating temperatures, CO2 is regarded as having a good calibration capacity, because of its various product outcomes, including the ability to provide clean, pure extracts and leave few traces behind. 

The most renowned cannabinoids can be efficiently extracted using ethanol, which is a polar solvent known for its ability to seamlessly mix with water and dissolve water-soluble plant molecules like chlorophyll. However, this can influence the final product’s flavor, potentially rendering it less suitable for use in food, beverages, and similar products. Ethanol extraction is ideally suited for producing oils, cannabinoids, tinctures, topicals, distillates, and any extract designed to achieve high potency. Despite its flammability, ethanol carries fewer risks compared to other solvents.

Some of the eminent firms operating in the Australia & New Zealand cannabis extraction & analytical testing market are Thermo Fisher Scientific Corp, Shimadzu Corp, etc.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Corp, headquartered in the United States, is a provider of medical equipment, reagents and consumables, analytical instruments, software, and services to tackle complex analytical challenges in diagnostics, research, and clinical laboratories. It offers solutions for cellular analysis and biology, synthetic biology, and flow cytometry. The company has a range of products, which include technologies for mass spectrometry, electron microscopy, protein, molecular biology research, and genetic sequencing. The company serves pharmaceutical and biotech companies, government agencies, clinical diagnostic labs, industrial quality, as well as process control sectors.