Increasing Global Lumber Prices May Help Hemp Industry

This article was originally published on Cannabis & Tech Today, and appears here with permission.

Lumber has been one of the most common building materials in construction for a very long time.

It is not the most popular building material on earth, as that distinction goes to concrete. However, wood is still very popular and has been for centuries.

Houses, wagons, bridges, and a number of other things have been made out of wood in many different countries throughout the world both historically and currently.

Unfortunately, prices for lumber have increased exponentially this year, which may ultimately prove to be a blessing to the global hemp industry.

Exploding Prices for Lumber

Lumber is a commodity that is traded around the world. Virtually every country on earth uses lumber for various purposes.

Using the NASDAQ as a measure, the cost of lumber has nearly tripled in just the last year.

If you have visited a home improvement store or lumberyard in the last year to make a purchase, then the sticker shock you experienced really hammered things home (no pun intended).

Fortunately for builders across the planet, there is a building material alternative that is much better for the environment.

Hemp As A Building Material

When many folks think about hemp, they tend to think of hemp products like rope, paper, and clothing.

In recent years, demand for hemp has skyrocketed thanks to the increased popularity of CBD products. Many CBD products are derived from hemp.

However, there’s another use for hemp that is likely to gain in popularity thanks in part to increased lumber prices: hemp as a building material.

The inner woody fibers from hemp plants can be used to make boards similar to wood boards, often referred to as ‘hemp board.’

Another use for hemp in building materials is for making hempcrete, which is similar to concrete yet is much more earth-friendly.

Hemp grows much faster than trees, and in many cases is more pest and fire-resistant. Historically, prices for hemp building materials are more than lumber, but the gap is closing more and more with every passing month.

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