VANCOUVER, BC, June 3, 2022
/CNW/ - Village Farms International, Inc. ("Village Farms" or the
"Company") (NASDAQ: VFF) today announced it has been named to
Corporate Knights' inaugural Future 50: The Fastest Growing
Sustainable Companies in Canada. The Future 50 is a
list of the fastest growing Canadian companies whose business
activities align with the transition to a global clean economy.
Village Farms was selected from a pool of 6,115 companies (1,100
public and 4,015 private) as one of 25 publicly traded companies
with the highest year-over-year percentage increase in "clean
revenue". (The other 25 Future 50 selections were
private companies.)
"As a Company that has put the environment and sustainable
agriculture practices as the heart of everything we do since it was
founded more than 30 years ago, Village Farms is honored to
be included in the inaugural Future 50: The Fastest Growing
Sustainable Companies in Canada," said Michael DeGiglio, Chief Executive Officer,
Village Farms International. "We are firm believers that
what's good for the earth is good for our business, good for our
employees, and good for our stakeholders. We look forward to
building on our proud history of leadership and innovation in
sustainable agriculture as one of the largest producers of
greenhouse grown fresh produce in North
America, and as a top producer of cannabidiol products
internationally: cannabis in Canada and Australia, with plans to enter the Netherlands, and CBD and other cannabinoid
products in the United States, as
well as selected Asia-Pacific
markets."
"All companies are now in the business of dealing with climate
change. Our reason for devising this list is our belief in the
success of these companies being pivotal to creating a more
sustainable Canada, as well as
acting as inspiration for other entrepreneurs," said Toby Heaps, founder and CEO of Corporate
Knights.
For more information about Village Farms' commitment to the
environment and sustainability, please visit: Sustainability -
Village Farms International.
For more information on the Future 50: The Fastest Growing
Sustainable Companies in Canada, including the selection
methodology, please visit: Future 50 | Corporate
Knights.
About Corporate Knights
Corporate Knights Inc. is an independent media and research B
Corp committed to advancing a sustainable economy that supports
both people and the planet.
Since 2002, Corporate Knights has published an award-winning
quarterly magazine. It is distributed in The Globe and Mail,
The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. With
a circulation of more than 126,000, Corporate Knights
magazine is the most prominent publication dedicated to advancing a
sustainable economy.
The Corporate Knights research division produces global
corporate and fund rankings. Its flagship ranking is the Global 100
Most Sustainable Corporations in the World, released each year
during the World Economic Forum.
About Village Farms International, Inc.
Village Farms leverages decades of experience as a large-scale,
Controlled Environment Agriculture-based, vertically integrated
supplier for high-value, high-growth plant-based Consumer Packaged
Goods opportunities, with a strong foundation as a leading fresh
produce supplier to grocery and large-format retailers throughout
the US and Canada, and new
high-growth opportunities in the cannabis and CBD categories in
North America and selected markets
internationally.
In Canada, the Company's
wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary, Pure Sunfarms, is one of the
single largest cannabis operations in the world, the lowest-cost
greenhouse producer and one of Canada's best-selling brands. The Company also
owns 70% of Québec-based, Rose LifeScience, a leading third-party
cannabis products commercialization expert in the Province of
Québec.
In the US, wholly-owned Balanced Health Botanicals is one of the
leading CBD brands and e-commerce platforms in the country.
Subject to compliance with all applicable US federal and state laws
and stock exchange rules, Village Farms plans to enter the US
high-THC cannabis market via multiple strategies, leveraging one of
the largest greenhouse operations in the country (more than 5.5
million square feet in West
Texas), as well as the operational and product expertise
gained through Pure Sunfarms' cannabis success in Canada.
Internationally, Village Farms is targeting selected, nascent,
legal cannabis and CBD opportunities with significant medium- and
long-term potential, with an initial focus on the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Information
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933,
as amended, (the "Securities Act") and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"),
and is subject to the safe harbor created by those sections. This
press release also contains "forward-looking information" within
the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. We refer to
such forward-looking statements and forward-looking information
collectively as "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking
statements may relate to the Company's future outlook or financial
position and anticipated events or results and may include
statements regarding the financial position, business strategy,
budgets, expansion plans, litigation, projected production,
projected costs, capital expenditures, financial results, taxes,
plans and objectives of or involving the Company. Particularly,
statements regarding future results, performance, achievements,
prospects or opportunities for the Company, the greenhouse
vegetable or produce industry or the cannabis industry are
forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking
information can be identified by such terms as "can", "outlook",
"may", "might", "will", "could", "should", "would", "occur",
"expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "try",
"estimate", "predict", "potential", "continue", "likely",
"schedule", "objectives", or the negative or grammatical variation
thereof or other similar expressions concerning matters that are
not historical facts. The forward-looking statements in this press
release are subject to risks that may include, but are not limited
to: our limited operating history in the cannabis and cannabinoids
industry, including that of Pure Sunfarms, Inc. ("Pure Sunfarms"),
Rose LifeScience Inc. ("Rose" or "Rose LifeScience"), Balanced
Health Botanicals, LLC ("Balanced Health") and our operations of
growing hemp in the United States;
the legal status of the cannabis business of Pure Sunfarms and Rose
and the hemp business of Balanced Health; risks relating to the
integration of Balanced Health and Rose into our consolidated
business; risks relating to obtaining additional financing,
including our dependence upon credit facilities; potential
difficulties in achieving and/or maintaining profitability;
variability of product pricing; risks inherent in the cannabis,
hemp, CBD, cannabinoids, and agricultural businesses; market
position; ability to leverage current business relationships for
future business involving hemp and cannabinoids; the ability of
Pure Sunfarms and Rose to cultivate and distribute cannabis
in Canada; existing and new governmental regulations,
including risks related to regulatory compliance and regarding
obtaining and maintaining licenses; legal and operational risks
relating to expected conversion of our greenhouses to cannabis
production in Canada and in the United States; risks related to rules and
regulations at the US federal (Food and Drug Administration and
United States Department of Agriculture), state and municipal rules
and regulations with respect to produce and hemp, cannabidiol-based
products commercialization; retail consolidation, technological
advances and other forms of competition; transportation
disruptions; product liability and other potential litigation;
retention of key executives; labor issues; uninsured and
underinsured losses; vulnerability to rising energy costs;
inflationary effects on costs of cultivation and transportation;
recessionary effects on demand of our products; environmental,
health and safety risks, foreign exchange exposure, risks
associated with cross-border trade; difficulties in managing our
growth; restrictive covenants under our credit facilities; natural
catastrophes; the ongoing and developing COVID-19 pandemic; and tax
risks.
The Company has based these forward-looking statements on
factors and assumptions about future events and financial trends
that it believes may affect its financial condition, results of
operations, business strategy and financial needs. Although the
forward-looking statements contained in this press release are
based upon assumptions that management believes are reasonable
based on information currently available to management, there can
be no assurance that actual results will be consistent with these
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements necessarily
involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which
are beyond the Company's control, which may cause the Company's or
the industry's actual results, performance, achievements, prospects
and opportunities in future periods to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These
risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the factors
contained in the Company's filings with securities regulators,
including this press release. In particular, we caution you that
our forward-looking statements are subject to the ongoing and
developing circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic, which
may have a material adverse effect on our business, operations and
future financial results.
When relying on forward-looking statements to make decisions,
the Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on these
statements, as forward-looking statements involve significant risks
and uncertainties and should not be read as guarantees of future
results, performance, achievements, prospects and opportunities.
The forward-looking statements made in this press release relate
only to events or information as of the date on which the
statements are made in this press release. Except as required by
law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise
publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which
the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events.
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content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/village-farms-international-named-to-corporate-knights-inaugural-future-50-the-fastest-growing-sustainable-companies-in-canada-301561098.html
SOURCE Village Farms International, Inc.