– Combined with Previously Announced Supply
Agreement for Ontario, Pure
Sunfarms will have Access to More than Half of the Canadian
Population –
VANCOUVER, Sept. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - 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 entered into a supply agreement with the British
Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch (BCLDB) to supply the BCLDB
with Pure Sunfarms-branded cannabis products for the recreational
market in the Province of British
Columbia.
Pure Sunfarms will begin shipping packaged product to the BCLDB,
as well as the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation (the "OCRC",
operating as the Ontario Cannabis Store), with whom it entered into
a supply agreement in February 2019,
as soon as possible upon receipt of its license amendment
permitting sales and distribution directly to
provincial/territorial wholesalers and authorized private retailers
in accordance with provincial/territorial frameworks in
Canada (sometimes referred to as a
"packaging license").
Combined, Ontario and
British Columbia comprise more
than half of Canada's population,
with Ontario (Canada's most
populated province) and British Columbia
(Canada's third most populated province) comprising more
than 38% and more than 13% of Canada's population, respectively). Pure
Sunfarms also continues to advance discussions with other
provincial distributors for potential supply agreements.
"The announcement of today's supply agreement with the BCLDB
represents a major milestone for Pure Sunfarms," said Mandesh
Dosanjh, President and Chief Executive Officer, Pure Sunfarms. "We
are proudly B.C.-based, cultivating cannabis to the highest
standards by the most experienced growers in the industry, and look
forward to having Pure Sunfarms product available in our home
province."
"Pure Sunfarms is already one of Canada's largest cannabis producers, with an
outstanding reputation for quality, consistency, safety and
reliability," said Michael DeGiglio,
CEO, Village Farms International. "This supply agreement for
Canada's third most populous
province will significantly expand Pure Sunfarms' market reach when
it begins sales directly to provincial and territorial wholesalers,
taking the next step in establishing Pure Sunfarms as a premiere
national brand with Canadian cannabis consumers."
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
USA, LLC, and Arkansas Valley
Green and Gold Hemp LLC, for multi-state outdoor hemp cultivation
and CBD extraction and plans to pursue controlled environment hemp
production at its Texas greenhouse
operations, which total 5.7 million square feet of production area,
subject to legalization of hemp in Texas.
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, 2017.
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.