The amount of dried cannabis held in stock by Canadian producers, wholesalers and retailers fell in March for the fourth straight month, according to the latest data from the federal regulator, Health Canada.
It is the first time inventory declined for four consecutive months since Canada legalized adult-use marijuana in late 2018.
For March, unpackaged inventory of dried cannabis, plus packaged inventory held by producers, wholesalers and retailers, was 1.08 billion grams.
The March figure shows that inventory has retreated slightly to pre-“croptober” levels, when a massive glut of outdoor production entered the system last fall.
The inventory pullback is largely the result of cannabis producers slashing greenhouse mass-production capacity over the past year, sometimes selling large greenhouses at a loss in an effort to rightsize their production portfolios.
Indoor licensed growing area was 18% lower in March (1,807,536 square meters) compared with the all-time high established in May 2020 (2,217,216 square meters).
Dried cannabis is not the only category facing a supply-demand imbalance.
Cannabis edibles inventory across Canada reached 16.1 million units in March, compared with sales of 2.3 million units.
Cannabis extracts inventory, including products such as vape pens, hash and softgels, surpassed 12.6 million units, while sales were less than 2 million units.
The Health Canada data shows March seed sales doubling month-over-month to 8,450 packages.
Ancillary businesses catering to the niche home cultivation segment have fared well in the past year, MJBizDaily previously reported.
