The Althea Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: AGH) share price has been a positive performer on Wednesday.
In early trade, the cannabis company's shares are up 4.5% to 33.5 cents.
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Why is the Althea share price on a high today?
Investors have been buying Althea's shares this morning after it announced its expansion into a new market.
According to the release, the company has completed its first shipment of Althea medicinal cannabis products to its local partner in South Africa. Althea's exclusive distributor in the country, Africann, is a licensed cannabis wholesaler specialising in the import and distribution of medicinal cannabis products.
Management believes this first shipment of Althea products is a major achievement for the company and expects it to provide Althea with an early mover advantage in the emerging South African medicinal cannabis industry. This market is estimated to be worth approximately US$667 million by 2023.
Althea's CEO, Joshua Fegan, believes that this latest development supports its ambition to become the world's leading supplier of cannabis-based medicines.
He said: "We are excited to have exported our initial shipment of Althea products for South Africa. This development once again reflects our ambition and progress in becoming the world's leading supplier of cannabis-based medicines."
"The Althea brand continues to build trust and enduring loyalty with Healthcare Professionals and patients all over the globe, with South Africa the latest country able to experience our unrivalled market access program," Mr Fegan concluded.
Investors will no doubt be hoping that today's development is the catalyst to getting the Althea share price heading in the right direction again.
After all, even after today's gain, the Althea share price is down by 24% since the start of the year. This is similar to the declines being recorded by fellow cannabis shares such as Cann Group Ltd (ASX: CAN) and Creso Pharma Ltd (ASX: CPH) in 2021.
