Village Farms International Announces Pure Sunfarms’ Selection to Supply Ontario Cannabis Store, Providing Strong Validation of Vertical Integration Strategy
VANCOUVER, Feb. 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ – Village Farms International, Inc. (“Village Farms” or the “Company”) (TSX:VFF) (OTC: VFFIF) today announced its cannabis joint venture, Pure Sunfarms Corp. (“Pure Sunfarms”), through a competitive process, has been selected by, and has entered into a supply agreement with, the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation (“OCRC”), operating as the Ontario Cannabis Store (“OCS”), to supply the OCS with Pure Sunfarms-branded cannabis products for the non-medical market in the Province of Ontario.
“Pure Sunfarms’ supply agreement with the OCS – our first with a provincial government distributor – is a tremendous step forward for our organization, putting our branded, quality products on the OCS web site and, soon, retailers’ store shelves, and into the hands of our consumers,” said Mandesh Dosanjh, President and Chief Executive Officer, Pure Sunfarms. “The confidence of the OCS in Pure Sunfarms’ ability to reliably supply safe, consistent, quality products is a testament to the hard work of the entire Pure Sunfarms team who have been relentless in advancing our organization to this stage. We are thrilled to be working with the OCS in Canada’s most populated province and look forward to finalizing additional supplier agreements for other provinces and growing the Pure Sunfarms brand nationally.”
With its 1.1 million square foot cannabis facility steadily approaching full production, Pure Sunfarms’ selection as a supplier by the OCS is a tremendous validation of the organization’s capabilities as and an important step towards Pure Sunfarms becoming a premier vertically integrated supplier and scale player in the Canadian market.
Michael DeGiglio, Chief Executive Officer, Village Farms
I have been very impressed by the leadership and strategic decision-making that Pure Sunfarms’ President and CEO, Mandesh Dosanjh, has demonstrated in balancing near-term revenue and profitability with the longer-term value generated by building the Pure Sunfarms brand and strong relationships with provincial government distributors. With extraction capabilities expected to be in place by mid-2019, Pure Sunfarms is well positioned to evolve with the market and expand its business with the OCS and others into oils, and other products such as edibles when they are legalized.
With this supply agreement in place, Pure Sunfarms can commence shipments to the OCS upon receipt of its packaging and processing licenses from Health Canada, which it continues to expect in the near term, subject to Health Canada’s own timelines.
Pure Sunfarms has been and continues to pursue additional supply agreements with other provincial government distributors and private retailers as it continues to sell directly to other Licensed Producers to capitalize on favorable spot market pricing amidst the continuing cannabis supply shortage across Canada.
Pure Sunfarms recently completed conversion of all of the growing area – more than 1 million square feet – at its 1.1 million square foot greenhouse in Delta, British Columbia, making it one of the largest single cannabis growing facilities in the world. The first three quadrants of that facility are licensed for cultivation, with the fourth quadrant currently under Health Canada licensing review. Pure Sunfarms expects to be in production in all four quadrants of this facility in the first quarter of 2019 and to reach full run rate annual production of approximately 75,000 kilograms by mid-2019.
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. 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 and CBD markets, subject to compliance with all applicable U.S. federal and state laws.
