CO2 GRO Inc (TSX-V:GROW, OTCQB:BLONF) has announced that its CO2 Delivery Solutions system is now operating at Colombia's rose greenhouse commercial feasibility, which was announced in June, 2020.
The Toronto-based company said that a leading global industrial CO2 gas supplier — whose name and location are maintained confidential — introduced the customer and is assisting in the management and execution of the project.
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"We are pleased to be announcing the start of the commercial feasibility in collaboration with the grower and the leading global industrial gas supplier that operates in dozens of countries. The Colombian rose market is another high-value market where our CO2 Delivery Solutions technology can help growers increase production and profitability in a sustainable way,” said Aaron Archibald, VP of sales and strategic initiatives, in a statement.
He added: “We are making good progress expanding into new high-value plant markets and countries. Building strategic relationships with companies such as the global industrial gas supplier will help us expand our domestic and international reach to accelerate sales."
The commercial feasibility was postponed due to significant delays in logistics for the CO2 Delivery Solutions system components followed by unavoidable COVID-19 related matters. In addition, the customer requested the start of the commercial feasibility coincide with the beginning of their main growing season to better evaluate the technology's benefits on roses.
The grower operates several hectares of rose greenhouses. The main benefits being evaluated include faster time to flowering, greater flower bud production, increased stem length, and the pathogen perimeter protection benefit to suppress micro-pathogens, the company said.
According to a Statista update for 2020, Colombia exported $1.42 billion of flowers in 2020 of which $1.2 billion was to the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Colombia's flower production is led by roses (22.6%) and carnations (14.6%).
Colombia is the largest exporter of roses and other flowers to the U.S. and the second-largest exporter globally next to the Netherlands. Most export-targeted flowers from Colombia are grown in simple hoop houses and shade houses that typically do not employ atmospheric CO2 enrichment to enhance production, making CO2 Delivery Solutions a viable alternative.
Contact Ritika at ritika@proactiveinvestors.com