Nexus Pharma (Pty) Ltd (Nexus) has announced a “groundbreaking” partnership with German cannabis company Enua, to secure a long-term off-take agreement and strengthen ties with South African growers.
This deal comes just weeks after South Africa imposed a ban on the production and sale of cannabis and hemp-derived food products, a decision that has faced heavy criticism from various opposition parties and industry stakeholders.
As part of the agreement, Enua has already “placed a 10-ton order for cannabis biomass through Nexus”. Nexus is currently working on bringing two cannabis processing facilities into operation—one located in Gauteng and the other in the Western Cape.
Enua is a vital player in the rapidly growing German medical cannabis market, which is estimated by leading international consultancy Prohibition Partners to be worth €420 million (R8.3 billion) in 2024. The company specialises in connecting cannabis cultivators with its network of pharmacies and has primarily been importing cannabis from Canada to date.
Enua’s managing director and founder Lars Möhring highlighted that Germany was the “biggest cannabis market in the EU and offered significant opportunities for South African exporters”.
“Although Germany is encouraging domestic production to meet its needs, that country is looking to promote domestic cultivation, but there is still significant room for imports from South Africa.”
