This topic is an introduction to certified cannabis production for export. It covers four things:
- what GACP requires from a farm
- where GMP starts
- what EU-GMP adds on top of GMP
- what the regulator in the importing country checks before a shipment can leave
The three standards in plain words
GACP (Good Agricultural and Collection Practice) is a set of rules for growing, harvesting and drying a medicinal plant. It applies on the farm. Its aim is to make every batch clean and traceable.
GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) is a set of rules for the work after the farm. That work includes processing, packing and releasing the plant material as a finished product. GMP applies in the processing facility, not in the field.
EU-GMP is the European Union’s version of GMP. The topic EU-GMP and PIC/S GMP explains how it compares with other GMP guides and what a real certificate looks like.
In general, GACP ends where the dried plant goes into processing to become the product that is sold. From that point, GMP applies. For cannabis flower, the importing country’s rules decide exactly where that line falls. In the EU, drying and the steps after it usually fall under GMP. Inspectors in different countries and regions do not always agree. In 2026, the health authority of the German state of Hesse said that drying and trimming at the harvest site must already meet GMP. Check the rule with your buyer before you build a drying room. The topic on active pharmaceutical ingredients explains where flower fits.
Translator’s note: Thailand has its own GACP standard for cannabis. The topic Does GACP Certification Mean PGR-Free? goes through the Thai standard line by line. The Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine certifies farms against it.
What to do first: Draw a simple map of your farm and processing area. Mark each room as farm work (growing, harvest, drying) or processing (trimming, packing, extraction). You will then know which standard each room has to meet before you spend money on building or upgrading it.
Most of the work is records that match what really happened
These standards are mainly about records, and only after that about growing methods. An inspector compares your files with what happened in the field and the drying room. If a record says something was done but nothing proves it, the record does not count.
The written evidence usually covers six things:
- Standard operating procedures (SOPs): written step-by-step instructions for each routine job, such as mixing nutrients or cleaning the drying room. Everyone does the job the same way, so one batch can be compared with the next.
- Batch records: a log for each batch that shows what was done, when, and by whom. A problem found later can be traced back to its cause.
- Trained, named staff: every task is done by a person whose name is in the file and who has a training record. The inspector can see that the person doing the job knew how to do it.
- Validated cleaning: a cleaning method that has been tested and shown to work, not just a habit. This stops residue or contamination from one batch carrying over into the next.
- Controlled storage: storage where temperature and humidity are kept within set limits and logged. The log proves the product did not degrade before shipment.
- Testing traced to a lot: every lab result is tied to one specific lot, meaning a batch with its own number. The topic How to Read a Cannabis Certificate of Analysis explains what a lab report shows.
Translator’s note: Thailand’s climate makes the storage and drying records harder to keep. In the rainy season, outdoor humidity often goes above what a drying room can tolerate. Power cuts also stop air conditioners and dehumidifiers without warning. Drying Cannabis at 85–95% Ambient Humidity compares Thai drying setups.
Translator’s note: Two habits help here. Use a battery-powered temperature and humidity logger so readings continue during a power cut. Write every outage into the batch record with its start time, end time and what you did. An inspector who sees an explained gap has evidence to judge. An unexplained gap gives them nothing.
Translator’s note: Contaminant limits include pesticide residues. In Thailand, use only pesticides registered with the Department of Agriculture (กรมวิชาการเกษตร), and use them as the label says. The topic What You May Legally Spray Under Thai GACP explains why there is no cannabis-specific product list.
What to do first: Pick one small batch. For two weeks, write a batch record for it every day. Note each task, the time, the person who did it, and the drying-room temperature and humidity. You will see which records you can already keep and which ones need a new SOP or new equipment.
Two things to settle before you plan a farm around export
1. A certificate covers one defined site, process and product. If you move drying to a new room, change a key process step or switch cultivar, the certification changes too. Handle the change through your certifier before you make it. Do not treat it as a small adjustment.
What to do: Keep a change log. Before any change to a room, process or cultivar, write it down and ask your certifier whether it needs approval. That way the certificate stays valid while the farm keeps improving.
2. The rules in the importing country count as much as your own. Each importing country has its own:
- import authorisation, meaning the permit needed to bring the product in
- permitted limits for contaminants, such as pesticide residues and microbes
- inspection, in several countries, by its own regulator
Export timelines are most often lost on this side. A farm can be certified and still wait months for the buyer’s country.
What to do: Choose one target market before you plant for export. Get that country’s import permit requirements and contaminant limits in writing. Compare them with your current lab results. Gaps will show up before the harvest instead of at the border. Five Medical Flower Markets Compared and Testing Cannabis Flower Before Export are good starting points.
Translator’s note: Thai law. Cannabis flower (ช่อดอกกัญชา) is a controlled herb under the Notification of the Ministry of Public Health Re: Controlled Herbs (Cannabis), B.E. 2568. It has been in force since 26 June 2025. Exporting a controlled herb requires a licence under Section 46 of the Thai Traditional Medicine Protection Act B.E. 2542 (1999). Exporting without one is punishable under Section 78 by up to 1 year in prison, a fine of up to 20,000 baht, or both.
Translator’s note: The Ministerial Regulation on Controlled Herbs (No. 2) B.E. 2569 came into force on 30 April 2026. It tightens the licence criteria for cannabis flower. If your plan includes extraction, the Ministerial Regulation on Cannabis or Hemp Extracts B.E. 2569 has been in force since 26 April 2026. Under it, licences for extracts above 0.2% THC go only to:
- Thai juristic persons that are not “foreign” under the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542
- state agencies
- the Thai Red Cross Society
Thailand’s Two Ministerial Regulations of B.E. 2569 explains both regulations. The Thai export licence is a separate application from certification.
Translator’s note: The draft Cannabis Control Act is not law yet. The Cabinet approved the draft on 22 September 2026 and sent it to the House. Plan on the rules in force today.
Where to start
- Read the GACP guide linked at the top: Part 1, then Part 2. You will learn what an auditor checks on the farm and in storage.
- Read From a Thai Farm to a Regulated Overseas Market and its Part 2. You will see the export steps in order and which documents each step needs.
- Run the two-week batch record on one small batch, as described above. You will find your record gaps while they are still cheap to fix.
- Choose one target market and list its import permit, contaminant limits and inspection rules. You will know whether that market fits your farm before you commit a crop to it.
- Ask growers who have been through certification in the GACP Farms section of the forum. They can tell you how long each step actually took for them.
If you are working towards GACP or export certification, post your questions or your experience below this topic.