VANCOUVER, May 25, 2020 /CNW/ - Village Farms International, Inc. ("Village Farms" or "the Company) (NASDAQ:VFF) (TSX:VFF) today announced that its majority-owned joint venture for large-scale, low-cost, high-quality cannabis production, Pure Sunfarms, has received from Health Canada its cannabis cultivation sales licence based on an initial production area within its second 1.1 million square foot greenhouse facility in Delta, British Columbia (the "Delta 2 facility"), allowing it to expand capacity as needed through successive license amendments. The Delta 2 facility is located adjacent to the 1.1 million square foot Delta 3 greenhouse facility and when in production, is expected to contribute to further lowering Pure Sunfarms' already industry leading cost of cultivation.

"At a time when many in the industry are scaling back new construction projects, Pure Sunfarms continues to move forward with expansion of its future capacity to be ready to meet the anticipated long-term demand for its products," said Michael DeGiglio, CEO, Village Farms International. "We planned Pure Sunfarms' capacity based on our confidence in Pure Sunfarms' ability to capture leading market share across multiple product categories and with its consistent ranking as the top dried cannabis brand in Ontario1, we are confident in the merit of these expansion plans."

Pure Sunfarms to Begin Roll Out of Vape Products This Summer

On the heels of the leading market share performance of its British Columbia-grown dried cannabis products1, Pure Sunfarms is now preparing to begin the roll out of its first bottled cannabis oils, as well as its first Cannabis 2.0 offerings this summer.  Pure Sunfarms' Cannabis 2.0 roll out will begin with the launch of a selection of pre-filled 510 vape cartridges, available in the extract forms of its top-selling1 dried cannabis strains, as well as a selection of disposable vape pens – all under the highly regarded and well trusted Pure Sunfarms brand."

"We are confident that consumers will respond to Pure Sunfarms' Cannabis 2.0 offerings with the same enthusiastic reception that we have seen for its dried cannabis products. The roll out of its first Cannabis 2.0 products is just one of a number of near-term catalysts for Pure Sunfarms that we believe will continue to drive Pure Sunfarms' sales and profitability growth. Pure Sunfarms is the only public Canadian cannabis company to deliver five consecutive quarters of profitability – an incredible achievement anchored in its industry leading cost of production and its high-quality, safe, attractively priced products that consumers want."

Mr. DeGiglio added, "Our produce business is experiencing recent momentum with our ability to now better take advantage of the stronger produce pricing in the spot market.  At the same time, we are making steady, tangible progress on our CBD strategy, as we actively evaluate viable near-term product and market opportunities."

"In addition, we are increasingly optimistic about the prospect of a federally legalized cannabis market in the U.S. based on recent strong consumer usage data, the expected need for massive economic stimulus to fuel recovery post-the COVID-19 pandemic, including substantial job creation, as well as the benefit of billions of dollars of additional tax revenue that would be generated at all levels of government.  California alone generated more than $1 billion in tax revenue for the State in just its first two years of legal cannabis sales.   Village Farms is well positioned to capitalize on what we believe would be the largest opportunity in the history of our Company, with one of the of the largest U.S. greenhouse footprints located in what we believe is the best growing climate for cannabis in the U.S., coupled with the invaluable experience of having already built the premier cannabis business in Canada."

About Village Farms International, Inc.

illage 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 majority 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.