Wholesale prices for hemp and hemp-derived products showed relative stability again in March. The majority of product categories experienced less than a +/- 3% change, which in most cases do not indicate any underlying trends. Isolate products were the only exceptions, with CBD Isolate, CBC Isolate, and THCv Isolate all losing 7% or more in value. Changes in smokable flower prices were largely due to supply mix adjustments, with outdoor grown flower pulling down the aggregate average price despite indoor grown flower maintaining high premiums.
Year-over-year, wholesale prices have been favorable to sellers, with 18 of the 21 core product categories showing positive gains compared to March 2025 prices. Several biomass categories are up over 20%, the aggregate CBD distillates category is up 12%, and smokable CBD flower is up over 15%. CBD Isolate and CBG Distillate are two products that have not made yearly gains, with current price assessments down 6% and 12%, respectively.
While indoor grown THCa flower prices remain strong, and demand continues in the face of regulatory changes on the horizon, prices for greenhouse and outdoor grown THCa flower fell this month, dragging the aggregate THCa flower price down by 2.2%. Prices for warehouse and mixed-light cultivated CBD flower remained relatively unchanged, while prices for outdoor grown CBD flower continue to slide, this month losing 2.7%. CBG flower prices are also decreasing, by 7.0% in March as demand continues to waiver.
Maritime shipping disruptions are causing pain beyond rising energy and fuel prices, as deliveries of fertilizer are being impacted as we enter the beginning of spring in the U.S. Hemp is considered a “heavy feeder” requiring three primary macronutrients: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), as well as several secondary nutrients. According to reports from FarmWeek Now and Progressive Farmer, all eight fertilizer categories are seeing price increases over the same time last year. As input price volatility is expected to persist, combined with U.S. tariffs on imports as well as water supply concerns due to below average snowpack and uncharacteristically early high temperatures in the west, the agricultural community is facing considerable challenges heading into the 2026 growing season.
Prices to ship hemp and hemp-derived products across the U.S. are also rising as we close out March. As gasoline prices continue to climb, combined with the Department of Transportation (DOT) implementing stricter driver qualification guidelines in early 2026, costs associated with dry van and sprinter van modes of transport can be expected to rise as we head into April.
