Bee Vectoring Technologies Accelerates Sales Commitments And Triples Managed Acres In US Pacific Northwest For FY2022

Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc. (the “Company” or “BVT”) announced today that it has accelerated sales commitments through a tripling of acres managed by its natural precision agriculture system in the US Pacific Northwest in FY2022 compared to the previous year. BVT is now working with 11 berry customers in Oregon and Washington on a total of 360 acres, including five paying customers and six growers conducting demonstration trials. These customers grow on more than 8,500 total acres in the region. Additionally, the Company is pursuing opportunities with growers who grow late-blooming varieties of berries.

“Last year, BVT recorded sales in the Pacific Northwest for the first time and a year later we are pleased to announce significant acceleration into the region,” said Ian Collinson, Sales Manager BVT. “We continue to successfully penetrate and grow our presence in this major berry market. This region has growers with large-scale operations, making our progress here a key milestone for BVT’s future growth. As the market becomes more consolidated, BVT will be able to scale its growth exponentially to meet the demands from these large producers in the future. Based on prior experiences with growers, once they are able to see the benefits of the BVT system through the trials, they will efficiently integrate the technology into their entire operation.”

The growers with BVT managed acres in the Pacific Northwest in 2022 represent approximately a third of the 25,000 blueberry, blackberry and raspberry acres⁽¹⁾ in the region. “We expect growers to add BVT to their additional acreage over the coming two to three seasons after successful trials. Additionally, new customer acquisition can be accelerated as other growers will notice the benefits from these large operations, translating to rapid growth for BVT in the future,” added Mr. Collinson.

The Pacific Northwest blueberry bloom period began in May, with blackberry and raspberry bloom set to start in mid-June. Growers are using BVT’s proprietary Vectorite with CR-7 (Clonostachys rosea CR-7) biological fungicide and natural precision agriculture system for disease control and improving yield on both conventional and organic acres.

The Pacific Northwest region is a significant market which produces one-third of all blueberries grown in the United States and demand for PNW berries is high both domestically and overseas. Moreover, the region is diverse in crops and the success for BVT with berries can help pave the way for diversified growth in other regional crops like cherries and stone fruit.

“We continue to expand annually in all three major growing regions in the Pacific Northwest: Northern Washington, Eastern Washington, and Northwestern Oregon,” said Ryan Dragoo, Pacific Northwest Territory Manager at BVT. “We are also seeing significant interest from growers in Central Washington, where disease control is not a major concern. This is a positive sign that growers see the value of BVT in boosting yield and improving fruit quality and plant health.”

“We are also working with a major distributor with large reach into British Columbia, which will pave BVT’s way into the Canadian market once we have completed the country’s regulatory process,” added Mr. Collinson.

⁽¹⁾ Source: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service