Bee Vectoring Technologies submits its biological fungicide CR-7 for registration in Mexico

Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc. (the “Company” or “BVT”) (CSE: BEE) (OTCQB: BEVVF) (CVE:BEE) announce the Company has submitted its proprietary Clonostachys rosea CR-7 (CR-7) biological fungicide for registration in Mexico. The registration dossier was presented on April 19, 2022 at a meeting with COFEPRIS (The Federal Commission for Protection from Sanitary Risks), the Mexican health authority responsible for registration of plant protection products. The dossier included CR-7 trial data already completed in Mexico and studies into human safety, environmental impact, product efficacy and more, as required to support product registration.

This application is part of a 2022 program to submit in up to four new jurisdictions allowing the Company to significantly increase its geographic footprint and open new revenue streams.

“We’re anticipating a quicker review process as compared to chemicals in Mexico because CR-7 should be considered a low-risk product,” said Gerardo Suazo, Senior Technical Manager for Mexico at BVT. “However, registration timelines with Mexican health authorities have been experiencing delays due to pandemic-related labor shortages and the backlog of submissions making it hard to predict review timing.”

“We’ve worked very closely with Mexico’s leading regulatory consultancy specializing in biological products,” continued Dr. Suazo. “We are confident the dossier is complete and will be successful.”

Mexico’s growers offer significant market potential for BVT’s natural precision agriculture system: official statistics indicate that the country’s production in 2019 included 41,600 acres of strawberries, 12,100 acres of blueberries and over 377,000 acres of tomatoes and peppers.⁽¹⁾ In the same year, US imports of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables from Mexico amounted to US$15.6 billion.⁽²⁾

“Mexico is a huge export market, and high-volume growers are keen to adopt low- or no-chemical solutions to fight diseases and increase crop yields,” said Ashish Malik, CEO of BVT. “The country uses US$1.3 billion worth of pesticides each year, ⁽³⁾ but an increasing number of growers are turning to biologicals as an alternative that offers better quality, greater food safety and reduces the need for chemicals.”

⁽¹⁾ Source: 2019, Mexico Agricultural and Fisheries Information Service (SIAP – Servicio de Información Agroalimentaria y Pesquera)
⁽²⁾ Source: 2020, Congressional Research Service, “Seasonal Fruit and Vegetable Competition in US-Mexico Trade”
⁽³⁾ Source: 2021, Mordor Intelligence, “Mexico Agrochemicals Market”