Calavo Growers, Inc. Announces Expansion of Fresh Avocado Packing Operations

SANTA PAULA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Calavo Growers, Inc. CVGW today announced that the company is expanding its Mexican fresh avocado operations through construction of a packinghouse in Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco, a prime growing region about 85 miles south of Guadalajara.

The addition of the 70,000-square-foot facility—being built on a sizable tract of owned property that affords room for future growth—will substantially increase Calavo's total annual fresh avocado packing capacity, stated the company, a global avocado industry leader and expanding provider of value-added fresh food.

In conjunction with Calavo's existing Mexican operations in Uruapan, Michoacán, the new facility—expected to come online by this July—will pack fresh avocados for export to the United States and international destinations, while playing an instrumental role in the company's ongoing market-share-building initiatives, said Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Lee E. Cole.

Cole said: "We expect that expanding operations into a second growing region—vastly increasing Calavo's packing capacity—enables us to build upon and extend our fresh avocado market leadership. With domestic avocado consumption expected to exceed two billion pounds this year, the new packing operations in Guzmán are essential to remaining on the forward edge of industry growth and building upon our unrivalled market-leadership position. Beyond this steady rise in U.S. avocado consumption, emerging international markets such as China, other parts of the Asia-Pacific region and Europe, point to the exceptional opportunity in being an early entrant in Ciudad Guzmán, just as Calavo was in Uruapan in the late 1990s."

Cole added that a number of the growers with whom Calavo already does business in Michoacán also have avocado groves in Jalisco, providing "the company significant competitive advantage as we enter this new region. We fully expect the capital investment to translate into new revenue and profit drivers and will share more about the company's progress in Ciudad Guzmán as the fiscal year progresses."

About Calavo

Calavo Growers, Inc. is a global avocado-industry leader. The company also procures and markets diversified fresh produce items, ranging from tomatoes to tropical produce. An expanding provider of value-added fresh food, the company's Calavo Foods business segment manufactures and distributes guacamole, guacamole hummus, salsa and tortilla chips under the respected Calavo brand name. Calavo's wholly owned subsidiary, Renaissance Food Group, LLC, creates, markets and distributes a portfolio of healthy, high-quality lifestyle products for consumers through fast-growing brands that include Garden Highway and Chef Essentials. Founded in 1924, Calavo serves food distributors, produce wholesalers, supermarket retailers and restaurant chains worldwide.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains statements relating to future events and results of Calavo (including certain projections and business trends) that are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results and events may differ from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: increased competition, conducting substantial amounts of business internationally, pricing pressures on agricultural products, adverse weather and growing conditions confronting avocado growers, new governmental regulations, as well as other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including, without limitation, the company's latest, filed Annual Report on Form 10-K. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.