Bee Vectoring Technologies Invoices
First Commercial Revenue; Increases Acreage Served in Florida Strawberry Market
Mississauga, ON Canada (January 28, 2019) – Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc. (“BVT”) (TSXV: BEE) (OTCQB: BEVVF) announced today the invoicing of the first commercial sales of its proprietary bee-based crop enhancement technology to strawberry growers in Florida.
“Bringing a novel crop technology to market represents one of the most complex commercial undertakings as it has the potential to dramatically change the practice of agriculture and directly impact the food we all eat – this is a significant achievement for any company,” said Ashish Malik, President and CEO of BVT. “Revenue from this pilot launch means BVT is transitioning from an R&D company to now a commercialization company. It is a very significant milestone for our company and adds another layer of validation that our technology benefits farmers in ways that are measurable and tangible.”
Pilot launches are typically the first step in the introduction of new technologies in agriculture, usually with a few growers and on a small percentage of the planted acres. They grow to full commercial launches and larger revenue numbers as growers progressively adopt the new technology across greater portions of their operations over a few seasons, and as the technology gets adopted in additional crops.
“Last year many strawberry growers in Florida faced unusually tough growing conditions that put a strain on profitability, which in turn reduced new operational investments for this season. We were very pleased to see that, even in the face of these challenging conditions, five growers opted to purchase the BVT system this season,” continued Malik. “We anticipate BVT will follow the typical growth cycle for innovation in agriculture as these growers treat more acres, and we convert additional growers into paying customers. Several other growers are currently using the system in demonstrations and trials.”
Florida is the second largest strawberry growing region in the U.S., producing around 20 million flats of strawberry annually on about 11,000 acres. The BVT system is currently being used on about 1% of these planted acres.
The BVT system uses bees to carry plant health products directly to key areas of target plants - using significantly less product than required with traditional spray applications, while also reducing use of chemicals and consumption of water and fossil fuels. In Florida, the primary crop focus for the BVT system is strawberries and blueberries. BVT is currently conducting trial work with its platform throughout North America to prove its effectiveness in other crops.
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