July 8, 2019

Cannabis Cultivators Supplying the Massachusetts Market Continue to Expand Production

 

Retail sales figures for Massachusetts’ adult-use market for May are now available on the state Cannabis Control Commission’s (CCC’s) Open Data Platform, which includes information on retail sales and product distribution in the state’s adult-use market, as well as data on plant counts from licensed cultivators.

Through May 29th, licensed adult-use retailers in Massachusetts generated almost $33.5 million in gross revenue. Based on earlier trends, it is likely that at least an additional $3 million in sales will be generated by legal storefronts in the final two days of May, bringing the month’s total retail revenue to about $36.5 million.

If May reaches $36.5 million in sales, it would represent an increase of almost 19% from April’s retail revenues of under $30.8 million. Monthly revenues continue to grow at a strong clip, but the rate of increase has been slowing progressively as 2019 wears on. April’s monthly sales were up by over 26% relative to March’s, which represented an increase of almost 35% compared to February’s.

Still, it should be noted that the significant increase in sales in May was despite only one new retailer being given permission to open late in the month. As of late April, 17 storefronts had received permission to commence operations in the adult-use sector. An additional shop was cleared to begin sales as of May 20th. As of June 4th, there are now 19 retailers in Massachusetts with permission to sell to general consumers, according to information from the CCC.

Plant count information contained in the state’s Open Data Platform indicates that supply generated by cultivators in the adult-use sector continues to expand. Final figures for April show 17,795 plants harvested that month, up by almost 48% from 12,058 plants cut down in March. For May, 23,787 plants had been harvested through the 29th, up by nearly 34% month-over-month. The increase in harvested plants was due entirely to existing grow operations increasing their active production capacity. The number of cultivators licensed to supply the adult-use market held steady at 11 from late April to late May, according to CCC information.