-- Pure Sunfarms' Delta 3 Greenhouse Facility Becomes One of the
Largest Canadian Cannabis Growing Operations Licensed to Sell
Product, With Significant Production and Sales Ramp Expected
Through 2018 and Beyond --
VANCOUVER, July 30, 2018 /CNW/ - Village Farms
International, Inc. ("Village Farms" or the "Company") (TSX: VFF)
(OTC: VFFIF) and Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc. (TSXV: EMH;
OTCQX: EMHTF) ("Emerald") today announced that their 50/50 joint
venture for large-scale, low-cost, high-quality cannabis
production, Pure Sunfarms, has received its cannabis sales license
from Health Canada. Pure Sunfarms is now permitted to immediately
begin selling product from its expanding inventory of high-quality
dried cannabis, including to Emerald Health Therapeutics, under
their previously announced supply agreement, as well as to address
significant demand from other licensed producers. This sales
license also positions Pure Sunfarms to secure supply agreements
with provincial government distributors for the imminent legal
adult-use marketplace.
"Pure Sunfarms continues to achieve its milestones on or ahead
of schedule, and has transformed the Delta 3 facility from growing and selling
tomatoes to growing and selling cannabis in just seven months,"
said Michael DeGiglio, CEO, Village
Farms. "Pure Sunfarms' near-term objective is to maximize the
profitability of its expanding production capacity during what is
expected to be an initial period of short supply when adult
cannabis use becomes legal in Canada on October 17,
2018. Pure Sunfarms will become a vertically integrated
supplier and, with this sales license in place, will aggressively
move forward with its product development and branding
strategies."
"Pure Sunfarms is moving at remarkable speed to become a
significant cannabis supplier and, with our high operational
quality standards, we achieved a very rapid turnaround on this
license. We greatly appreciate Health Canada's timely responses to
all of our submissions," said Chris
Wagner, CEO, Emerald Health Therapeutics. "With access to
established wholesale and provincial agreements and the prospect of
similar additional agreements in the near-term, Pure Sunfarms is
well prepared for a rapid sales ramp-up in the coming quarters.
This will drive value for both Village Farms and Emerald, as joint
venture partners."
Pure Sunfarms initiated commercial-scale cannabis production in
May of this year and is currently utilizing 225,000 square feet of
its 1.1-million square foot Delta
3 greenhouse facility in Delta,
BC, with the expectation that the full 1.1 million square
feet will be converted for cannabis production by the end of 2018,
on schedule and on budget. Upon completion of the conversion, Pure
Sunfarms' Delta 3 facility will be
one of the single largest cannabis growing facilities in the
world.
About Village Farms International, Inc.
Village Farms International, Inc. 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. With more than 750 years of
accumulated master grower experience coupled with advanced
proprietary technology and environmentally sustainable growing
practices, Village Farms is highly resource efficient. 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 its large-scale
Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) greenhouses in
British Columbia and Texas, as well as from its partner greenhouses
in BC, Ontario, and Mexico.
About Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc.
Emerald Health Therapeutics (TSXV: EMH; OTCQX: EMHTF; Frankfurt:
TBD) is a Licensed Producer under Canada's Access to Cannabis for Medical
Purposes Regulations and produces and sells dried cannabis and
cannabis oil for medical purposes. Emerald is preparing to serve
the fully legalized Canadian adult-use cannabis market starting
October 17, 2018. Emerald owns 50% of
Pure Sunfarms, which is converting a licensed existing 1.1 million
square foot (25 acres) greenhouse in Delta, BC, and is in commercial production. It
also wholly owns Agro-Biotech, a Montreal-based licensed cannabis grower with a
75,000 square foot indoor facility, and is planning to add a
500,000 square foot wholly owned greenhouse in Metro Vancouver.
Emerald's team is highly experienced in life sciences, product
development, large-scale agri-business, and marketing, and is
focused on developing value-added cannabis-based products with
potential wellness and medical benefits. Emerald is part of the
Emerald Health group, which is broadly focused on developing
pharmaceutical, botanical, and nutraceutical products that provide
wellness and medical benefits to people through interacting with
the human body's endocannabinoid system.
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 industry 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. Some
of the specific forward-looking statements in this press release
include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to closing
of the Offering and the intended use of proceeds therefrom.
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 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.
SOURCE Village Farms International, Inc.