Australia's budding medicinal cannabis sector is set for a major windfall after winning approval to begin exports.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said allowing medicinal cannabis product exports will help the developing domestic market to grow.

"By helping the domestic manufacturers to expand, this, in turn, helps to ensure an ongoing supply of medicinal cannabis products here in Australia," Mr Hunt said in a statement.

He hopes Australia can be the world's top supplier of medicinal cannabis.

The export permit will be done by regulation.

The federal government in 2016 legalised patient access to Australian-grown and manufactured medicinal cannabis, subject to state and territory regulations.

Victoria became Australia's first state to legalise cannabis for medical use and was quickly followed by NSW.

As of May last year, only 150 patients had accessed Australian-grown medicinal cannabis products and there are some concerns doctors are unwilling to prescribe it.