DEMAND FOR HEMP SOARING, FIRM MOVES TO BIGGER PLANT

Not only is demand for hemp products skyrocketing -- Canadian hemp
seed exports increased by 300 per cent and hemp oil exports by 85 per
cent from 2006 to 2007 -- but one of the country's oldest and largest
hemp food producers, Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods & Oils, is moving
into a new state-of-the-art processing plant this week that will boost
its production capacity by 500 per cent.

And Wednesday, the federal and provincial governments added icing to
the cake with the unveiling of a new national strategy for developing
the hemp industry in Canada.

"In the last 10 years, the Canadian hemp industry has grown from an
emerging niche market to a point where we are now being recognized as
a global leader in hemp production," said Mike Fata, chairman of the
Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance (CHTA) and president and co-founder of
Manitoba Harvest Hemp.

"With the province's support, this hemp strategy has given us a road
map to new opportunities and continued growth of the hemp industry in
Canada."

Fata said the creation of a national strategy gives the industry
instant credibility.

"It proves the industry is here and it's not just a
fad."

The strategy was announced on the second day of the CHTA's two-day
annual meeting and technology conference in Winnipeg.

More than 100 delegates from Canada, the United States, Europe and
Korea attended the event, designed to bring industry players up to
date on the latest developments within the global hemp industry.

Delegates were told the focus over the last 10 years in North America
- -- hemp growing has been legal in Canada only since 1998 -- has been
on finding new uses for hemp products in the production of food,
cosmetics and clothing.

But in Europe, the focus has been more on using hemp fibre to produce
things like automotive components and construction materials.

However, Fata and Shaun Crew, president of the province's other big
hemp processing company, Ste. Agathe-based Hemp Oil Canada Ltd.,
predicted the creation of a new national strategy will lead to the
development of more products made from hemp fibre, as well.

"It's happening now on the R & D (research and development) end of
it," Crew said.

While Fata said he believes there will be a growing demand for things
like hemp building materials, it's not something Manitoba Harvest Hemp
will be tackling any time soon. Rather, its focus will continue to be
on producing hemp products for the food and cosmetics sectors.

He said the company's new 20,000-square-foot processing plant on Eagle
Drive is four times bigger than its old plant on Notre Dame Avenue and
has 500 times the production capacity.

That added capacity, coupled with a growing demand, should enable
Manitoba Harvest Hemp to increase its sales fivefold over the next
five years to about $25 million, he said. Five new jobs are being
added to the workforce of 28, with another two or three to be hired
next year.