Mission Produce® Implements Policy Addressing Illegal Deforestation

OXNARD, Calif., Nov. 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVO) (“Mission” or “the Company”) a world leader in sourcing, producing, and distributing fresh Hass avocados, today announced the implementation of a policy aimed at addressing illegal deforestation associated with avocado farming in Michoacán, Mexico.

“Illegal deforestation in Michoacán, where a significant majority of Mexico’s overall avocado production is from, is an important issue to our Company and our stakeholders,” said John Pawlowski, President and Chief Operating Officer. “For that reason, we are taking action to promote environmental stewardship in this area. While we cannot solve the issue of illegal deforestation in this region alone, this policy demonstrates our commitment to be part of the solution and aims to set a positive precedent in the industry.”

In the policy, Mission Produce will prohibit its direct sourcing operations in Michoacán from sourcing avocados from the 279 orchards recently identified to be associated with illegal deforestation by the Ministry of Environment for the State of Michoacán. On a quarterly basis, the Company will review and assess any additional ranches identified by the Ministry of Environment for the State of Michoacán to be associated with illegal deforestation and continue to explore available resources and methodologies to identify additional actions it can implement to address this important issue.

The policy can be found on the Sustainability Page of the Company’s website at www.missionproduce.com/sustainability.

About Mission Produce, Inc.:

Mission Produce is a global leader in the worldwide avocado business with additional offerings in mangos and blueberries. Since 1983, Mission Produce has been sourcing, producing and distributing fresh Hass avocados, and currently services retail, wholesale and foodservice customers in over 27 countries. The vertically integrated Company owns and operates four state-of-the-art packing facilities in key growing locations globally, including California, Mexico and Peru and has additional sourcing capabilities in Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Brazil, Ecuador, South Africa and more, which allow the company to provide a year-round supply of premium fruit. Mission’s global distribution network includes strategically positioned forward distribution centers across key markets throughout North America, China, Europe, and the UK, offering value-added services such as ripening, bagging, custom packing and logistical management. For more information, please visit www.missionproduce.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not historical in nature are forward-looking statements that, within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Words such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "plan", "believe", "seek", "could", "estimate", "judgment", "targeting", "should", "anticipate", "goal" and variations of these words and similar expressions, are also intended to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release address a variety of subjects, including statements about our short-term and long-term assumptions, goals and targets. Many of these assumptions relate to matters that are beyond our control and changing rapidly. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurances that our expectations will be attained. Readers are cautioned that actual results could differ materially from those implied by such forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including: limitations regarding the supply of avocados, either through purchasing or growing; fluctuations in the market price of avocados; increasing competition; risks associated with doing business internationally, including Mexican and Peruvian economic, political and/or societal conditions; inflationary pressures; loss of one or more of our largest customers; general economic conditions or downturns; supply chain failures or disruptions; disruption to the supply of reliable and cost-effective transportation; failure to recruit or retain employees, poor employee relations, and/or ineffective organizational structure; inherent farming risks; seasonality in operating results; failures associated with information technology infrastructure, system security and cyber risks; new and changing privacy laws and our compliance with such laws; food safety events and recalls; failure to comply with laws and regulations, including those promulgated by the USDA and FDA, health and safety laws, environmental laws, and other laws and regulations; changes to trade policy and/or export/import laws and regulations; risks from business acquisitions, if any; lack of or failure of infrastructure; material litigation or governmental inquiries/actions; failure to maintain or protect our brand; changes in tax rates or international tax legislation; risks associated with the ongoing conflict in Russia and Ukraine; the viability of an active, liquid, and orderly market for our common stock; volatility in the trading price of our common stock; concentration of control in our executive officers, directors and principal stockholders over matters submitted to stockholders for approval; limited sources of capital appreciation; significant costs associated with being a public company and the allocation of significant management resources thereto; reliance on analyst reports; failure to maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting; restrictions on takeover attempts in our charter documents and under Delaware law; the selection of Delaware as the exclusive forum for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders; risks related to restrictive covenants under our credit facility, which could affect our flexibility to fund ongoing operations, uses of capital and strategic initiatives, and, if we are unable to maintain compliance with such covenants, lead to significant challenges in meeting our liquidity requirements and acceleration of our debt; and other risks and factors discussed from time to time in our Annual and Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You can obtain copies of our SEC filings on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Corporation does not intend to, nor does it assume any obligation to, update or supplement any forward-looking statements after the date hereof to reflect actual results or future events or circumstances.

Media
Jenna Aguilera
Marketing and Communications Manager
Mission Produce, Inc.
press@missionproduce.com

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