A large-scale East Ladner greenhouse operation, that’s made the switch from vegetables to cannabis, is about to enter the market.

Partnering with AgraFlora Organics International Inc. to create the new entity Propagation Services Canada Inc., Houweling Nurseries announced this week that by this summer it will have its first commercial crop for sale.

“We have made recent modifications to existing infrastructure which has allowed us to significantly increase our drying capacity and increase revenue for summer 2021,” said general manager Ruben Houweling in a news release.

The venture will see the eventual conversion of the entire 2.2-million-square-foot greenhouse.

The 20-hectare (49-acre) facility on 64th Street would be the second largest cannabis greenhouse facility in Canada among those that are currently built.

Meanwhile, Statistics Canada has released retail sales data indicating that while retail sales in general in this country saw a drop last year, sales at cannabis stores more than doubled in 2020 because of higher demand.

Statistics Canada notes more than $2.6 billion worth of legal cannabis was purchased, but prices faced downward pressure as cannabis companies competed with the illicit market, coupled with increased competition as more companies entered the market.

The City of Delta currently does not have a cannabis retail outlet, having passed a bylaw which prohibits the stores in all zones.

However, the city is currently reviewing an application by Seed and Stone that would see an industrial property in the 600-block of Chester Avenue on Annacis Island rezoned to allow for a cannabis sales operation within a portion of an existing industrial building.

The operation would include a 1,001-square-foot retail storefront and a 2,637-square-foot warehouse.