VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc. (TSX-V:EMH) (OTCQX:EMHTF) (“Emerald”) and Village Farms International, Inc. (“Village Farms”) (TSX:VFF) (OTC:VFFIF) 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 (TSX-V: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. Emerald is part of the Emerald Health group, which is broadly focused on developing pharmaceutical, botanical, and nutraceutical products that provide wellness benefits to people through interacting with the human body’s endocannabinoid system.
Please visit www.emeraldhealth.ca for more information or contact:
Rob Hill, Chief Financial Officer
(800) 757 3536 Ext. #5
Ray Lagace, Investor Relations Manager
(800) 757 3536 Ext. #5
invest@emeraldhealth.ca
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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements made in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements and are subject to important risks, uncertainties and assumptions, both general and specific, which give rise to the possibility that actual results or events could differ materially from our expectations expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such statements include legalization of nonmedicinal cannabis; production capacity of various facilities; expansion of facilities; and anticipated production costs.
We cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties related to, among other things, failure to obtain regulatory approvals; failure to obtain necessary financing; results of production and sale activities; results of scientific research; regulatory changes; changes in prices and costs of inputs; demand for labour; demand for products; as well as the risk factors described in the Company’s annual information form and other regulatory filings. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release represent our expectations as of the date hereof. Forward-looking statements are presented for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to obtain a better understanding of our anticipated operating environment. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company undertakes no obligations to update or revise such statements to reflect new circumstances or unanticipated events as they occur, unless required by applicable law.