VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc. (TSX-V:EMH) (OTCQX:EMHTF) (“Emerald”) and Village Farms International, Inc. (“Village Farms” or the “Company”) (TSX:VFF) (OTC:VFFIF) today announced that their 50/50 joint venture for large-scale, low-cost, high-quality cannabis production, Pure Sunfarms, received from Health Canada an amendment to its cultivation license for its Delta 3 greenhouse in Delta, BC. This amendment permits Pure Sunfarms to substantially expand its cannabis production to 225,000 square feet of the 1.1-million square foot Delta 3 production facility.



In mid-May, Pure Sunfarms initiated commercial-scale production on 130,000 square feet at the Delta 3 greenhouse, which is now fully utilized, with harvesting expected to begin in August. Planting in the newly-licensed area will commence this week and is expected to be completed by the end of July. Pure Sunfarms expects to have the full 1.1 million square foot Delta 3 facility, one of the single largest cannabis growing facilities in the world, converted to cannabis production by year end.

The technologically-advanced Delta 3 greenhouse design is based on decades of large-scale, low-cost agricultural production experience and extensive cannabis expertise, resulting in a state-of-the-art facility with 17 grow rooms optimized for year-round harvesting (more than 85 harvests annually) and an automated process line encompassing harvesting, trimming, drying and packaging. The greenhouse is designed to cultivate more than 200,000 cannabis plants concurrently.

“We are thrilled to expand Pure Sunfarms’ production area to 225,000 square feet,” said Michael DeGiglio, Director, Pure Sunfarms and CEO of Village Farms. “Leveraging Village Farms’ deep experience designing greenhouse operations globally for high-value crops, Pure Sunfarms has developed the Delta 3 greenhouse to optimize operating conditions for the highest quality and yield with continuous year-round harvesting. We are not surprised to see our first commercial-scale crop thriving in this environment and remain firmly on track for our production targets in 2018 and beyond.”

“The Delta 3 production facility is maturing at an outstanding pace thanks to our senior cultivation, financial, and operational teams. We are making great strides to achieve large-volume, high-quality, low-cost cannabis production and anticipate receiving our sales license before the onset of recreational sales on October 17th,” said Chris Wagner, Director, Pure Sunfarms, and CEO of Emerald Health Therapeutics. “With the Canadian government’s historic legalization of adult-use cannabis, we are focused on meeting the needs of both medical and recreational consumers in this new era of cannabis regulation.

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 greenhouse in Delta, BC and is now in commercial production. It owns Agro-Biotech, a Québec-based licensed cannabis grower with a 75,000 square foot indoor facility and is planning to add a 500,000 square foot 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 may provide wellness and medical benefits by interacting with the human body’s endocannabinoid system.

Please visit www.emeraldhealth.ca for more information or contact:

Rob Hill, Chief Financial Officer, Emerald

(800) 757 3536 Ext. #5

Ray Lagace, Investor Relations Manager, Emerald

(800) 757 3536 Ext. #5

invest@emeraldhealth.ca

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

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 non-medicinal 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.



