The gap between what Canadians pay for legal and illicit cannabis is widening — a sign experts say points to the need for the marijuana industry to make prices a priority this year.

Statistics Canada said Thursday that the average price of legal cannabis increased to $10.30 per gram in the period between October and December 2019 from $9.69 per gram the year before.

The change came as the average price of illegal cannabis fell to $5.73 per gram in that fourth quarter from $6.44 per gram a year earlier and as the overall average price of cannabis rose to $7.50 per gram, an increase from $7.46 per gram a year earlier.

The agency based its conclusions on price quotes gathered using its StatsCannabis crowdsourcing application between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31. Out of 291 price submissions, 248 of were deemed plausible, it said.

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