ITOCO and Mountain Trading SAS Sign JV to Expand CBD Potential in Colombia
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / July 9, 2019 / ITOCO INC. (OTC Pink: ITMC) is pleased to announce it has executed a Letter of Intent with Mountain Trading SAS for a large-scale cannabis/CBD cultivation and production joint venture in Colombia on a premium 40-hectare site. This will give ITOCO a world class footprint for the processing and production of CBD cannabis derivatives for export into major legal world markets.
ITOCO is a 5-year-old publicly quoted specialty CBD medical cannabis development, production and distribution company based in Toronto, Canada and Bogota, Colombia. The project will be directed by newly formed Itoco subsidiary, ITOCO BIOMED SAS, a COLOMBIAN corporation.
Several of the largest cannabis companies in the world, including Canopy Growth, Aphria Inc., Khiron Life Sciences Corp, and more recently, Pharmacielo Ltd, have announced plans for Colombia based operations and more are expected in coming years.
Colombia has 40% of the world quota for cannabis cultivation and export of cannabis oil products, including cannabidiol (CBD).
“We are very excited to be working closely with expert agricultural partners in Colombia on a project of this magnitude, which is capable of doubling our potential CBD output. It is an extraordinary opportunity for Itoco BioMed SAS to participate in the production and sale of specialty CBD cannabis oils and extracts for the Americas and the European Union, while at the same time working to establish a low cost medical grade supply chain of cannabinoids,” stated Michael Paul, CEO of both ITOCO INC and ITOCO BIOMED SAS.
“We are pleased that our partners have strong agricultural industry roots and bipartisan political relationships in Colombia to sustainably and ethically support this Joint Venture.”
Under the terms of the letter of intent, the joint venture will oversee the 40-hectare CBD cultivation and production site. The site has ample access to power and water, and will have access to genetics registrations for high CBD plants, as well as the required licenses from seed to processed exports.
ITOCO BIOMED SAS and Mountain Trading have agreed to provide expertise along with initial and phased funding for a state-of-the-art cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practice) cannabis processing capability and the first phase of production capability at the facility.
The terms of the joint venture provide for expansion of the production site up to 500 hectares (1200 acres) of dedicated production. Canada based ITOCO INC will own 50% of the joint venture cannabis production and will also participate as co-owner of the Colombia venture from the first funding, and is set to increase its ownership position as it successfully contributes to additional funding tranches for site development.
In accordance with Colombian laws and the emerging export opportunity of bilateral and regional trade agreements within the Americas and with the European Union, the export products of the joint venture are specialty medical grade CBD cannabinoids and CBD terpenes.
The ITOCO BIOMED SAS production site in Colombia enjoys nearly ideal conditions for growing cannabis at scale. The site features a year-round 12-hour light and a 12-hour dark cycle because of its proximity to the equator, availability of a stable low-cost agricultural labor force, clean water, ample electrical grid capacity, and a growing team with decades of experience with genetics for cultivation indoor and in greenhouses for CBD.
The Letter of Intent is non-binding and subject to due diligence, and the preparation and signature of the definitive agreement for the Joint Venture.
About ITOCO INC.
ITOCO’s mission is to be a global leader in processing, distributing, and producing medical cannabis in a compliant environmentally friendly manner. Itoco Inc. trades on the OTC Markets, symbol: ITMC.
About Mountain Trading SAS
Mountain Trading SAS has applied for its CBD licenses in Colombia with grow and processing facilities close to Bogota. Mountain Trading has decades of agricultural growing development.
Contact ITOCO: Michael Paul, ir@itoco.net +1 (905) 829-5000.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, without limitation, may contain the words believes, expects, anticipates, estimates, potential, intends, plans, hopes, or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated. Forward looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.
SOURCE: ITOCO INC
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