Israel's Cannabis Imports and Supply

For a country famous for cannabis science and cultivation, Israel relies on imports to a surprising degree. Understanding where the flower actually comes from explains much of what drives prices, policy fights and supply risk in the Israeli market. This guide maps the supply chain — and the trade dispute that is currently reshaping it.

This guide is informational and is not investment advice.

Domestic cultivation isn't enough

Israel grows a substantial share of its own cannabis — but not enough to meet demand. Roughly one-third of products consumed are imported, with the balance produced by licensed domestic cultivators (GrowerIQ). To put scale on the flow: in a single month in 2025, Israeli pharmacies processed upwards of 302,000 approved flower packages (GrowerIQ).

The domestic side of that equation is smaller than most people assume. Israel's licensed grower base numbers fewer than twenty farms, and the regulator's own 2026 filings note that many growers have ceased operations in recent years — see who grows medical cannabis in Israel.

Canada is the dominant source

Among importers, one country stands out. Canada supplies roughly 80% of Israel's cannabis imports, with around 20 tonnes shipped in 2024 — about a quarter of total market volume (GrowerIQ). Smaller volumes come from countries including Uganda, Ethiopia and Germany. This concentration on a single foreign supplier is the structural fact behind Israel's cannabis trade politics.

The value gap is stark. Across the three years from July 2023 to June 2026, Canada exported cannabis to Israel worth CAD$107.95 million, against CAD$37.05 million from every other country combined — figures recorded in Israel's own anti-dumping decision (StratCann, 4 August 2026). By volume, Canadian producers shipped 40,203 kg to Israel in 2025, and 33,640 kg worth about CAD$23.1 million in the first five months of 2026.

Who actually does the importing

Importing is not a separate trade carried out by outsiders — it is largely done by the same Israeli pharma and cannabis companies that also produce domestically. The importers named in Israel's 2026 investigation file include Canndoc, IMC, BOL Pharma, Seach Medical, Together Pharma, Bazelet Pharma, Panaxia, Cronos Israel, Cann Better, CannAssure, Cantek Global, Therapin, Plantech Medical and Tikun Olam (StratCann).

That overlap is the reason the Israeli industry has never spoken with one voice on tariffs: a company that both grows and imports gains on one side of a duty exactly what it loses on the other. The complainants behind the current case were careful to note that their supporters are almost entirely growers not involved in importing. You can trace the corporate side of this in our company directory and in profiles of InterCure / Canndoc and IM Cannabis.

The dependency runs one way

It is worth noting how asymmetric that relationship is. Those same shipments represented about 7% of Canada's total cannabis exports in the first five months of 2026, and roughly 14% of its 2025 export total (StratCann) — Germany, Portugal and Australia take the bulk. Israel is a meaningful customer for Canada; Canada is close to indispensable for Israel. In any trade confrontation, that asymmetry sits squarely on Israel's side of the ledger.

Why flower dominates

The supply story is really a flower story: dried flower accounted for over 94% of medical cannabis usage by 2025 (GrowerIQ). Because flower is the overwhelming format, anything affecting flower supply — import costs, tariffs, a regulatory move against smokable formats — hits the entire market, not a niche of it.

The anti-dumping fight, and where it stands

Import dependence means trade policy is cannabis policy in Israel, and the clearest illustration has now run for two full rounds.

Round one. An investigation opened in November 2024 concluded that Canadian producers were selling below normal value and recommended duties as high as 165%. Israel's finance minister rejected the levies in April 2025 — the Health Ministry and the Competition Authority had both opposed them, warning of higher patient prices and a push toward the illicit market — and the case lapsed.

Round two. The Commissioner for Trade Levies, Danny Tal, reopened the file in June 2026 after fresh complaints from two Israeli producers. That investigation was closed on 29 July 2026 over a failure to properly notify Canadian authorities, then formally restarted on 5 August 2026, with Canadian exporters required to return questionnaires by 7 September 2026 (StratCann). The dumping period under examination runs July 2025 to June 2026; the injury period runs July 2023 to June 2026.

The core allegation is a price gap: an average Canadian export price to Israel of about ₪4.43 per gram against an average domestic Canadian price of roughly ₪10 per gram, giving a prima facie dumping margin near 125%. Eleven Canadian exporters are named, including Tilray, Aurora, Organigram, Cronos, Canopy and Decibel. Canadian producers contest the benchmark — domestic wholesale flower there commonly trades between about CAD$1.22 and CAD$1.97 per gram — and Rubicon Organics, one of the companies listed, told StratCann it has never sold product destined for Israel.

With 80% of imports from one country, a single trade decision can ripple straight through to pharmacy prices — see how much medical cannabis costs and our Regulation hub.

The strategic irony

Israel exports its cannabis expertise — research, standards, clinical credibility — while importing much of the actual product, because cheaper foreign flower undercuts higher-cost domestic cultivation. That mismatch is the same one that limits Israel's export industry: the country competes on quality and science, not on low-cost production.

The takeaway

Israel's supply is import-dependent, Canada-concentrated and flower-dominated — a combination that is efficient in normal times and fragile to trade shocks. The 2026 investigation is the second attempt to correct that with tariffs, and it carries the same trade-off as the first: protecting a shrinking domestic grower base at the probable cost of higher prices for patients. For demand-side context, see patient numbers and market size; the full overview is in our Market hub.