Infarmed, Portugal’s medicines authority, closed the first half of 2026 with 66,305 kilos of medical cannabis exported. That is 83% of everything Portugal shipped in the whole of 2025 (79,883 kilos), achieved in half the time. Germany remains the big buyer, with 37.4 tonnes. But the figure that matters on the Spanish side of the border sits in second place: Spain, with 11.4 tonnes.
The half-year in numbers
The breakdown by destination leaves little room for interpretation: Germany 37.4 t, Spain 11.4 t and Denmark 9 t account for most of the volume. Portugal has now strung together five years of sustained growth —31 tonnes in 2024, almost 80 in 2025— and 2026 is on course to double again if the second half looks anything like the first.
Behind those numbers there is industrial structure, not a one-off. At the end of June, 43 entities were authorised to cultivate and manufacture medical cannabis in the country, and a significant share of them already hold EU-GMP certification. Infarmed carried out 32 inspections during the half-year, focused on record keeping, product traceability and the qualification of customers and suppliers. That last item is what separates a producer with a route into Europe from one whose inventory stays in the warehouse.
Spain goes from footnote to second destination
Two years ago Spain barely registered in Portugal’s export statistics. It now absorbs one in every six kilos leaving the country. The shift is no accident: Royal Decree 903/2025, approved in October 2025, enabled magistral formulations with standardised cannabis preparations, prescribed by medical specialists and dispensed through hospital pharmacy services.
It is a narrow, closely supervised channel, but it is a real one, and it needs pharmaceutical-grade raw material with impeccable documentation. The natural supplier is a few hundred kilometres away, with road logistics, the same time zone and a shared EU regulatory framework. Portugal grows and certifies; Spain, for now, prescribes and imports.
The competitive edge is no longer in cultivation
The revealing part of Infarmed’s inspection approach is where it aims. Not at yield per square metre, but at traceability and at knowing exactly who you sell to and who you buy from. In a European market drifting towards biomass oversupply, the competitive differential has moved to EU-GMP certification, batch release and the dossier travelling with every pallet.
The Portuguese industry itself is aware of the tension. The eighth edition of PTMC, held on 10 and 11 September at the Academy of Sciences of Lisbon, includes a debate titled Cannabis Policy in Europe: Is Portugal Falling Behind?. A country exporting 66 tonnes in six months while still arguing over domestic patient access captures the European paradox rather neatly: industrial capacity running ahead of health policy.
What it means for business
- Iberian sourcing. For a Spanish importer, the Portuguese supplier stops being a hypothesis and becomes the benchmark for price and lead time against Canada or Australia.
- The dossier sells as much as the product. Traceability, supplier qualification and EU-GMP are now entry requirements, not selling points.
- Margin pressure. More certified volume available in Europe means less room for the intermediary who only moves goods.
- Diversify destinations. Denmark on the podium and Poland growing show that relying on Germany alone is an avoidable concentration of risk.
These conversations —who certifies, who imports, at what price and with which paperwork— are the kind that close face to face. Spannabis B2B Bilbao 2027 brings producers, laboratories, distribution, retail and investment together on 11 March at the BEC VIP Hall. If you are looking for a certified supplier in Iberia, or want to place your production in the Spanish market, book your B2B table or get your ticket.
Sources: Infarmed data reported by The Portugal News and The Marijuana Herald.