– Pure Sunfarms Expects to Begin Shipping
Branded Cannabis Products to the OCRC and BCLDB in the Coming
Weeks –
VANCOUVER, Sept. 9, 2019 /CNW/ - Village Farms
International, Inc. ("Village Farms" or the "Company") (TSX: VFF;
Nasdaq: VFF) today announced that its 50%-owned joint venture for
large-scale, low-cost, high-quality cannabis production, Pure
Sunfarms, has received from Health Canada the amendment to its
license permitting it to sell and distribute packaged, Pure
Sunfarms-branded dried cannabis products directly to
provincial/territorial wholesalers and authorized private retailers
in accordance with provincial/territorial frameworks in
Canada (sometimes referred to as a
"packaging license"), effective immediately.
Pure Sunfarms has supply agreements in place with the Ontario
Cannabis Retail Corporation (the "OCRC", operating as the Ontario
Cannabis Store) and the British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch
(the "BCLDB") and expects to begin shipping Pure Sunfarms-branded
products to both the OCRC and BCLDB in the coming weeks. Combined,
Ontario and British Columbia comprise more than half of
Canada's population.
"We're thrilled to receive this amendment to our license and be
able make our product available to cannabis consumers across the
country," said Mandesh Dosanjh, President and Chief Executive
Officer, Pure Sunfarms. "Pure Sunfarms will begin to
roll out our consumer brand over the coming weeks and Canadian
consumers will soon be able to try our product, proudly grown right
here in B.C., for themselves. Cultivated with the highest standards
by the most experienced growers in the industry, we believe the
quality of our cannabis, will speak for itself."
"Pure Sunfarms has already established itself as a premiere
supplier of cannabis products to other licensed producers and with
this amendment it can now begin building a differentiated and
enduring brand based on its best-in-class, low-cost growing
operations with Canadian consumers," said Michael DeGiglio, CEO, Village Farms
International. "The ability to now sell Pure Sunfarms-branded
products directly to the provinces and territories comes on the
heels of Pure Sunfarms' first 1.1 million square foot greenhouse
reaching full production of 75,000 kilograms annually in July, and
will further support Pure Sunfarms' industry leading gross margin
and position it for continued growth in revenue and
profitability. And we look forward to Pure Sunfarms quickly
expanding distribution into additional provinces as it moves toward
doubling its production capacity to a minimum of 150,000 kilograms
annually next year."
Pure Sunfarms continues to advance discussions with other
provincial distributors for potential supply agreements to further
expand its presence in the Canadian cannabis market.
About Village Farms International, Inc.
Village Farms is one of the largest and longest-operating
vertically integrated greenhouse growers in North America and the only publicly traded
greenhouse produce company in Canada. Village Farms produces and distributes
fresh, premium-quality produce with consistency 365 days a year to
national grocers in the U.S. and Canada from more than nine million square feet
of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) greenhouses in
British Columbia and Texas, as well as from its partner greenhouses
in British Columbia, Ontario and Mexico. The Company is now
leveraging its 30 years of experience as a vertically integrated
grower for the rapidly emerging global cannabis opportunity through
its 50% ownership of British
Columbia-based Pure Sunfarms Corp., one of the single
largest cannabis growing operations in the world. The Company
also intends to pursue opportunities to become a vertically
integrated leader in the U.S. hemp-derived CBD market, subject to
compliance with all applicable U.S. federal and state laws, Village
Farms has established two joint ventures, Village Fields Hemp and
Arkansas Valley Green and Gold Hemp, for outdoor hemp cultivation
and CBD extraction and is pursuing controlled environment hemp
production at a portion of its Texas greenhouse operations, which total 5.7
million square feet of production area.
Cautionary Language
Certain statements contained in this press release constitute
forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable
securities laws ("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, 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, Pure Sunfarms, the greenhouse vegetable industry or
the cannabis and hemp industries are forward-looking statements. In
some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by such
terms as "outlook", "may", "might", "will", "could", "should",
"would", "occur", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe",
"intend", "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.
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, that
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 U.S. and Canadian securities regulators, including as
detailed in the Company's annual information form and management's
discussion and analysis for the year-ended December 31, 2018.
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 only
relate 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.
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SOURCE Village Farms International, Inc.