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Supply Chain

Status: Draft
Source file: 02 Secondary Research/Market Analysis/supply-chain.md
Sensitivity review: Completed. Public-source evidence only. Direct phone numbers, email addresses, personal contact details and street addresses are excluded.
Purpose:

This page records secondary evidence on Australia's industrial hemp supply chain, with emphasis on domestic producers, processors, seed/genetics suppliers and wholesale or bulk buyer pathways that may be relevant to Granite Borders producers.

Supply Chain Pathways

Pathway Supply-chain stages Current evidence position Decision relevance
Grain / seed food Licensed crop, harvest, drying, cleaning, testing, dehulling/oil/protein processing, food ingredient or retail/wholesale sale. Lawful seed-food pathway is established. Multiple Australian food brands and processors exist. Capacity, buying terms and farm-gate prices remain mostly unpublished. The Economic Confidence Review now rates this as the strongest immediate primary-validation pathway. Higher priority for buyer validation because it is closer to existing Australian processing.
Seed oil / protein / hearts / flour Seed procurement, food-grade processing, packaging, wholesale and ingredient sales. Hemp Harvests, Hemp Foods Australia, Australian Primary Hemp and Midlands identify bulk or wholesale food ingredient pathways. Requires buyer specification and capacity validation.
Planting seed and genetics Breeding, licensed seed production, seed handling, varietal selection, grower support. Hemp Farms Australia and Mara Seeds are important seed/genetics leads; Australian Hemp Council maintains seed-supply guidance. Important adoption constraint and potential specialist pathway.
Fibre / hurd / hempcrete Fibre crop, harvest, retting or non-retted processing, decortication, fibre/hurd grading, building-material or industrial product sale. Domestic processors and building-material actors exist, and hemp-specific fibre trade codes confirm some trade. Evidence repeatedly identifies processing access and freight as bottlenecks. High-risk pathway unless named processor access and offtake are confirmed.
Panels / packaging / composites Biomass/fibre procurement, manufacturing line, product testing, wholesale/customer offtake. Wandarra/Hulkbuild/Hulkpack indicate activity in Queensland, but public buying capacity is limited. Potential pathway but needs direct validation before producer assumptions.
Animal feed Seed meal, cake, bedding or other products. Feed pathways remain affected by APVMA and feed-use constraints identified in submissions and regulatory evidence. Treat cautiously until lawful feed uses and buyer demand are confirmed.

Domestic Actors And Buyer Pathway Leads

Direct contact details are deliberately redacted. Public website URLs are retained in the source register for traceability and later approved follow-up.

Organisation Role in pathway Product pathways Public location for mapping Geographic reach stated or inferred from source Capacity or scale indicator publicly disclosed Purchasing signal Sales / wholesale signal Granite Borders relevance Contact publication status Source
Hemp Harvests Processor, brand owner, bulk wholesale supplier Hemp hearts, hemp protein, hemp oil, food ingredients Red Hills, TAS 7304 Tasmania-based; sources from responsible Australian farmers Dedicated Red Hills processing facility identified by Food Frontier; public capacity not disclosed Sources GMO-free seed from Australian farmers Bulk wholesale for food manufacturers and hospitality Strong food-processing lead; distant from Granite Borders, freight and buying terms need validation Direct phone, email and street details redacted; public website only S103; S104; S123
Midlands Seed / Midlands Bulk hemp seed grain supplier and exporter Bulk hemp seed grain for oil, hearts, protein, food ingredients and animal nutrition/feed applications Australia/Tasmania production indicated; exact Australian production locality not verified from source Australian origin product; exports to more than 60 countries through broader Midlands business Packaging in 25 kg sacks and 500 kg or 1,000 kg bulk bags; minimum order quantities apply Bulk grain sourcing likely but grower procurement terms not public Bulk seed grain sales and export capability Useful wholesale and specification lead; locality requires verification before mapping Direct contact details not published here; public website only S124
Hemp Foods Australia Processor, brand owner, wholesale channel Hemp protein, seeds, seed oil, beverages, pet and skin products Bangalow, NSW 2479 Australia-wide consumer and wholesale market Public capacity not disclosed Procurement terms not public Wholesale portal exists Northern NSW location may be more relevant than Tasmania for freight; buying terms need validation Direct contact details not published here; public website only S125; S132
Australian Primary Hemp Processor/brand owner with wholesale channel Hemp seed oil, hulled seeds, protein, flour and ingredients Victoria/Australia; exact processing locality not verified from reviewed page Australian grown/sown positioning; national wholesale products Public product pack sizes include 5 kg, 20 kg and 5 L examples; capacity not disclosed Procurement terms not public Wholesale ordering portal and food ingredient products Useful food ingredient/wholesale lead; location and intake terms need validation Direct contact details not published here; public website only S126
Mara Seeds Grower, breeder, grain processor, contract processor Grain, seed oil, protein meal, planting seed, biomass Northern Rivers NSW; Mallanganee region for later geocoding Northern Rivers and contract processing for other regional producers Reports 20-120 ha annual hemp cropping and more than 15 years commercial growing Seed and grower network role; detailed procurement terms not public Grain processing and contract processing reported Strong comparable NSW operating evidence; transferability to Granite Borders needs testing Parliamentary submission only; no direct contact details published here S106
Northern Rivers Hemp Cooperative Farmer-owned cooperative and value-chain stakeholder Food, fibre and health-oriented products Northern Rivers NSW Farmer-owned regional network Public capacity not disclosed Cooperative/grower network signal Product channels not verified Relevant as a grower-cooperation and bottleneck evidence lead No direct contact details published here S109
Hemp Farms Australia Seed/genetics supplier, grower support, processor/research network actor Registered industrial hemp genetics; grain, dual-purpose and fibre varieties Murarrie, QLD 4172 Seed buyers, processors and researchers across Australia, USA, New Zealand, Belgium and Spain More than 20 years genetics experience; registered cultivars; public throughput not disclosed Seed sales and grower support; crop-buying terms not public Genetics and agronomy support High relevance for Queensland/Granite Borders variety and seed-supply questions Direct email and street details redacted; public website only S122
Australian Hemp Masonry Company Building-material supplier and hurd buyer/pathway coordinator Hemp hurd, hempcrete, construction systems Processor network in NSW, VIC, TAS and WA; Qld/NT processing gap noted Works with Australian Hemp Fibre Processors Inc and sources closest possible location to projects Current hurd capacity not public Expresses interest in farmers across Australia; sourcing via processors Building-material supply and project-based demand Important hurd/hempcrete buyer lead, but no confirmed local processor in Granite Borders Direct contact details not published here; public website only S105; S127
Margaret River Hemp Processing Fibre/hurd processor Un-retted fibre, hurd, dew-retted fibre, fines and value-added products Margaret River, WA 6285 Western Australia-grown hemp focus Commercially viable processing facility claimed; public throughput not disclosed Works with farms growing industrial hemp for fibre/hurd Fibre and hurd product sales Useful processor model but low direct freight relevance to Granite Borders Direct phone, email and street details redacted; public website only S128
X-Hemp Fibre/stalk processor and building-material supply-chain actor Hurd for hempcrete; bast/fines/dust as unresolved co-products Northern Tasmania / Cressy area for later verification Tasmanian supply chain AgriFutures reports Tasmania's only hemp fibre processing facility; supplied homes and UTAS Forestry Building materials; raised seed capital Needs more crops and equipment according to AgriFutures article Hurd sold into building materials; other co-products awaiting markets Strong evidence of co-product and scale challenge; distant from Granite Borders No direct contact details published here S129; S130
Wandarra / Hulkbuild / Hulkpack Vertically integrated hemp business and manufacturing lead Food, oils, industrial products, bio-panels, packaging Townsville, QLD 4810 Queensland and licensing/partnership pathways AgriFutures reports a bio-panel line intended to supply 1,000 panels and a packaging licensing deal; current operating capacity needs confirmation Feedstock requirements not public Panels and food packaging pathways reported Queensland lead but still far from Granite Borders; requires status and offtake validation No direct contact details published here S129
Australian Hemp Fibre Processors Inc Processor network/industry group Building-grade hemp hurd and fibre processing NSW, VIC, TAS and WA processor network National processor network focus Public capacity not disclosed Coordinates processor network; grower buying terms not public Supports building-grade hurd supply Important for mapping processors and potential gaps in Qld/northern NSW No direct contact details published here S131
OzHemp Product supplier / market channel Animal bedding, cat litter, horticulture products, hempcrete inputs Australia; exact operating locality not verified in this pass Australia and New Zealand market claims require verification Public capacity not confirmed in this pass Buying terms not verified Product-market channel signal Useful follow-up for lower-specification hurd/fibre markets No direct contact details published here Follow-up source not fully extracted

Map-Ready Fields For Later GIS Work

Feature Candidate fields Current status
Supply-chain actors Organisation, pathway role, product category, locality, state, postcode, latitude, longitude, source ID, capacity indicator, direct-contact-redacted flag. Locality-level records can be populated now; coordinates should be geocoded later from locality, not street addresses.
Processor catchments Processor locality, accepted products, intake radius, freight sensitivity, minimum tonnage, seasonal intake window. Intake radius and minimum tonnage mostly unknown.
Buyer pathway layers Food ingredient buyers, seed/genetics suppliers, fibre/hurd processors, building-material buyers, panel/packaging manufacturers. Actor categories identified; buying capacity and procurement terms need validation.
Granite Borders origins Tenterfield, Stanthorpe, Applethorpe, farm locality, crop pathway, expected freight route. Local production points can be added later without personal details.

Implications By Assessment Perspective

Finding Producer Supply Chain GBLC Environment
Australia has identifiable hemp food processors and wholesale channels. Possible Positive lead Relevant Neutral
Grain and seed-food processors should be the first commercial validation targets because the pathway has the clearest combination of legal pathway, budget scaffold and processor leads. Possible Possible Relevant Neutral
Public sources rarely disclose purchasing capacity, intake windows or prices. Negative Negative Relevant Neutral
Fibre and hurd pathways are repeatedly constrained by processing proximity and co-product markets. Risk Risk Relevant Neutral
Hemp-specific fibre trade codes and a 2024 Australia-to-US true-hemp export signal confirm trade existence but do not prove Granite Borders-accessible demand. Possible Possible Relevant Neutral
Queensland and Northern NSW actors exist, but no Granite Borders processor has been verified. Risk Risk Relevant Neutral
Actor data can be structured for later maps without publishing direct contact details. Relevant Relevant Positive Neutral

Follow-Up Priorities

  1. Confirm whether named processors are currently buying from independent growers.
  2. Obtain intake specifications, prices, minimum volumes and contract terms.
  3. Confirm current processing capacity, utilisation and expansion plans.
  4. Map freight distances from Tenterfield, Stanthorpe and Applethorpe.
  5. Separate domestic sales, wholesale sales and export-capable pathways.
  6. Validate whether any actor can accept Granite Borders supply in the next two seasons.