VANCOUVER, May 23, 2019 /CNW/ - Village Farms International,
Inc. ("Village Farms" or the "Company") (TSX: VFF) (NASDAQ:
VFF) today announced that following the House of Representatives
concurring with the Senate amendments, House Bill 1325 will become
law in Texas (the "Texas Hemp
Legislation"), subject to the June 16,
2019 deadline for the Governor to veto bills – a highly
unlikely proposition for a bill that passed both the House of
Representatives and Senate unanimously. As a result of this
legislative change, Village Farms has begun conversion of half of
its 1.3 million square foot, ultra-high-tech Permian Basin
greenhouse (which utilizes the Company's proprietary
GATES® technology) for both cultivation of
high-cannabidiol (CBD) hemp and CBD extraction. The Texas
Hemp Legislation will require licenses for both the cultivation and
processing of hemp. Village Farms plans to apply for the
requisite licenses as soon as it is permitted to do under the new
legislation. No time frame has yet been provided by the
State of Texas for the licensing
process.
Village Farms has commenced conversion of the approximately
635,000 square feet of growing area at the Permian Basin facility
for hemp production, with the tomato crop having already been
removed and the construction team on site. Conversion will
incorporate all of the systems necessary for year-round hemp
cultivation, however, the Company could, with existing systems and
at this time of year, immediately begin cultivating hemp if it was
licensed to do so. Village Farms expects the Permian Basin
facility to be ready for year-round production in the third quarter
of 2019, with extraction operations also to be added in the
existing facility in 2019. Following passage of the federal
2018 Farm Bill in December 2018,
Village Farms began design and development of the site-specific
growing and technical systems to be prepared for conversion upon
passage of a hemp bill in Texas.
"With the potential for a hemp bill to be passed in Texas, we took the calculated risk of readying
a portion of our Permian Basin facility, and, as a result, we will
be a first mover in the Texas hemp
industry," said Michael DeGiglio,
CEO, Village Farms International. "Village Farms applauds the
Texas legislature and all of the
supporters of HB 1325 on passing this landmark bill, in particular
Sen. Charles Perry, Rep.
Tracy King, and the Texas Farm
Bureau. CBD is forecast to generate sales in the United States of more than US$16 billion by 2025 and, with passage of this
bill, Village Farms can now definitively and aggressively move
forward with its greenhouse and CBD extraction initiatives in our
home state of Texas to capitalize
on this significant opportunity. As always, we will pursue
our greenhouse hemp opportunity with our consistent focus on
short-term cash flow generation and achieving profitability as
rapidly as possible."
Mr. DeGiglio added, "High-value crops around the world are grown
in high-tech, controlled environment greenhouses and we believe
that a significant proportion of the market for CBD, such as that
for the high-end health and wellness products and the
pharmaceutical industry will demand premium-grade product derived
from hemp that is grown sustainably and to the highest standards
and exacting specifications, and available continuously year round.
As we are proving at our Pure Sunfarms joint venture in
Canada, we expect the conversion
of the existing Permian Basin operations to benefit from both our
track record of developing large-scale agricultural products and
our decades of site-specific experience, including climatological
data, our expert growing team and an established skilled labour
force. Importantly, as a result of its location in
West Texas, the Permian Basin
facility will not require supplemental lighting for year-round
growing, contributing to our overarching objective of low-cost
production. It's a significant advantage over operations in
higher latitudes."
Completed in 2011 and located in Monahans, Texas, Village Farms' Permian Basin
facility is one of the most technologically advanced greenhouses in
the world. It is based on the Company's proprietary
GATES® technology, which uses sophisticated computer
systems and software to control irrigation, fertilizers, carbon
dioxide, light, temperature, ventilation, humidity and other
climatic factors, with thousands of different variations. In
addition to its 1.3 million square foot Permian Basin facility,
Village Farms owns and operates three state-of-the-art greenhouse
facilities totalling an additional 4.4 million square feet in
West Texas, one of the best
growing environments for hemp in the
United States.
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.