Hemp Fiber & Hurds Wholesale: A Sourcing Guide for Brands Going Industrial Hemp
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If you're a brand sourcing hemp fiber or hurd at wholesale volumes in 2026 — for textiles, paper, building materials, bedding, plastics, packaging, or composites — this is the no-nonsense buyer's guide. Who's actually shipping product, what minimum order quantities look like, where pricing sits, and what to spec on your purchase orders so you don't end up with the wrong grade.
First, the two materials
"Hemp fiber" and "hemp hurd" are different parts of the hemp stalk, with very different applications and very different supply chains:
- Hemp bast fiber — the long, strong fibers running along the outside of the hemp stalk. Used for textiles, rope, paper, biocomposites, and insulation. Higher value per pound, more processing required.
- Hemp hurd (also called shives or core) — the woody inner core of the stalk. Used for animal bedding, building materials (hempcrete, hemp blocks), particle board, mulch, and paper. Lower value per pound, simpler processing.
A single hemp stalk yields roughly 25-30% bast fiber and 60-70% hurd by weight. Most decortication operations sell both byproducts as separate revenue streams.
The wholesale price reality in 2026
Approximate US wholesale pricing as of early 2026 (subject to regional variation, grade, and minimum order):
| Material | Wholesale price range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hemp hurd (bagged) | $0.65-1.20 / lb | Higher end for building grade, lower for bedding/animal |
| Hemp hurd (truckload, 45,000 lb) | $0.50-0.85 / lb | Truckload of 45,000 lb runs roughly $22,500-$28,000 delivered |
| Hemp bast fiber (commercial grade) | $1.50-3.00 / lb | Wide range based on cleaning level and fiber length |
| Hemp bast fiber (textile grade) | $3.00-8.00 / lb | Cleaned, combed, ready for spinning |
| Hemp pellets (compressed hurd) | $0.45-0.75 / lb | For animal bedding and biomass applications |
| Micronized hemp powder | $2.50-6.00 / lb | For composites and specialty applications |
Caveat: hemp pricing has been volatile through 2024-2026 as supply capacity ramps up unevenly. Spot prices can vary 20-40% from these ranges depending on harvest timing and regional supply.
The major US suppliers worth knowing
US Hemp Hurd (national)
Self-described "America's #1 Hemp Hurd and Fiber Supplier & Distribution." American-grown and American-processed hurd and fiber at wholesale scale. National distribution.
Bulk Hemp Warehouse (national)
Strong wholesale operation offering hemp hurd and fiber at competitive truckload pricing. Listed truckload pricing of $22,500 per 45,000 lb truckload (about $0.50/lb), shipping included on standard US destinations. Smaller-volume orders available at $0.85/lb with 30,000 lb minimum.
Midwest Hemp Technology (Kansas)
Producer and supplier focused on American-grown hemp grain, hurd, fiber, and micronized hemp materials. Direct relationships with Kansas farmers; vertically integrated operation. Strong choice for buyers who want supply chain transparency.
IND HEMP (Montana)
Family-owned industrial hemp company that operates a decortication facility separating hemp straw into bast fiber and hurd (shives). Sells bales of decorticated technical hemp fiber in various quality specifications. Notable for technical fiber buyers who need specific length and cleanliness grades.
Hemp Traders (California / national)
Over 30 years in the industry. Primarily a hemp textile and fiber wholesaler with strong relationships in apparel manufacturing supply chains. Useful for textile-grade buyers.
Dominion Hemp (Virginia)
Focused on animal bedding and building applications. Direct relationships with hemp farmers in the Mid-Atlantic region. Good supplier for East Coast operations buying for stable bedding or hempcrete production.
Hemptopia and others (specialty)
Smaller specialty operations covering specific use cases (gardening, niche manufacturing). Useful for smaller-volume buyers.
How to spec a hemp fiber or hurd purchase order
The most common mistake first-time buyers make: ordering "hemp fiber" without specifying grade, length, cleanliness, or moisture content. The result is product that doesn't meet end-use requirements and disputes about whether the shipment was acceptable.
The specifications that matter on a real PO:
For hemp hurd
- Particle size range. Animal bedding wants 2-15mm. Hempcrete wants 5-25mm. Particleboard wants 0.5-3mm. Specify your target.
- Dust content. Specify maximum fines percentage (often expressed as percent passing a specific sieve).
- Moisture content. Industry standard is below 12-14% moisture for shipping; specify if you need drier (some building applications want below 8%).
- Foreign material content. Specify maximum percentage of bast fiber contamination, leaf material, stems, or seed.
- Color uniformity. For visible end-use applications (some hempcrete, exposed bedding), specify color range expectations.
For hemp bast fiber
- Fiber length. Long-fiber (for spinning, often 4-12 inches) vs short-fiber (for nonwovens and composites, 0.5-3 inches). Critical spec.
- Cleanliness grade. "Technical grade" (some shive/hurd contamination acceptable), "carded grade" (cleaned to lower shive content), "combed grade" (highest cleanliness, ready for textile spinning).
- Fineness / linear density. Measured in dtex or denier; matters for textile end uses.
- Color. Natural raw fiber is tan to grey-brown; degummed fiber is lighter. Bleached fiber is the lightest but most processed.
- Tensile strength specification. For technical applications like composites, specify minimum acceptable tensile strength.
- Country of origin. Affects import duties and some end-customer requirements.
Minimum order quantities in 2026
The hemp wholesale market is fragmented enough that MOQs vary significantly by supplier:
- Bag-quantity orders — available from most retail-focused suppliers, often a 25-pound or 40-pound bag minimum
- Pallet-quantity orders — typical wholesale entry point, often 500-1,500 lb depending on supplier and packaging
- Half-truckload — many suppliers will run 20,000-30,000 lb minimum with regional shipping
- Full truckload — 40,000-45,000 lb, best per-pound pricing, free shipping included in many quotes
- Container quantities — for export applications, 20-foot or 40-foot ocean container quantities
If you're a new buyer evaluating multiple suppliers, request samples first (most suppliers will ship 5-20 lb samples for evaluation cost or free), then place a pallet-quantity test order before committing to truckload volumes.
The supply chain logistics nobody warns you about
Four operational realities to plan for:
- Hemp is bulky and lightweight. A full truckload of hurd is the volume of about 4-5 standard truckloads of denser materials. Plan your receiving and storage accordingly.
- Quality varies by harvest season. Hemp harvested in different conditions yields different fiber quality. Establish supplier relationships across multiple harvest cycles to understand variability.
- Decortication backlogs are real. The bottleneck in US fiber supply is decortication capacity, not farm acreage. Major suppliers run waitlists during peak demand windows.
- Cross-state transport regulations. Federal hemp legalization is in place, but state-level enforcement of the federal rules has been inconsistent. Confirm your supplier handles regulatory paperwork (proof of THC compliance, certificate of analysis, etc.) for interstate shipments.
Quality testing: what to require
For any hemp wholesale purchase intended for downstream commercial use, your supplier should be able to provide:
- Certificate of analysis showing THC content below the 0.3% federal limit (required regulatory compliance)
- Heavy metal testing results (hemp is a known phytoremediator and can accumulate soil contaminants — testing is essential for any food-grade or skin-contact end use)
- Microbial test results (mold, yeast, coliform) — particularly important for bedding and food-grade applications
- Pesticide residue testing — even though most hemp is grown without pesticides, certification is valuable
- Moisture and ash content — affects processability and final product performance
Reputable suppliers will provide this documentation as standard. If a supplier hesitates or refuses, treat it as a serious red flag and look elsewhere.
Sourcing for specific end uses: quick guide
| End use | Material | Key specs |
|---|---|---|
| Apparel textiles | Bast fiber, combed grade | Long fiber, cleanliness, fineness |
| Rope and twine | Bast fiber, technical grade | Long fiber, tensile strength |
| Paper | Bast fiber, any grade | Length, cleanliness |
| Hempcrete | Hurd, 5-25mm particle size | Low dust, low moisture, clean |
| Particleboard | Hurd, fine particle size | Uniform size distribution |
| Animal bedding | Hurd, 2-15mm, low dust | Low dust, dry, clean |
| Composite plastics | Bast fiber (short) or micronized hurd | Particle size, moisture |
| Mulch and soil amendments | Hurd, any size | Clean of seed/contaminants |
| Insulation batt | Bast fiber, blown or batted | Cleanliness, processing method |
The bottom line
Wholesale hemp fiber and hurd sourcing in 2026 is a real, viable, increasingly professional market. The US supply chain has matured significantly since the 2018 Farm Bill, with multiple credible suppliers offering competitive pricing at truckload volumes. The market is no longer plagued by quality consistency issues that defined the early years post-legalization.
For brands building product lines that use hemp fiber or hurd as a primary input, lock in supplier relationships early, specify your purchase orders rigorously, and build inventory buffers to manage the seasonal variability that still defines the industry. The category is on a 20%+ CAGR trajectory and supply tightness is more likely to be a future problem than current oversupply.
AllHemp.com maintains a curated hemp fibers and hurds wholesale directory connecting brands with vetted US suppliers. For broader industrial hemp context, see our pieces on the 2026 industrial hemp market, hempcrete and building materials, and hemp plastics manufacturers.
Sources:
- Midwest Hemp Technology — Hemp Grain, Hurd, Fiber Production
- IND HEMP — Hemp Fiber Decortication Specification