
Dole Food Company, Inc. Applauds The Bipartisan Agreement To Extend Andean Trade Preferences And Urges Swift Congressional Approval
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, California - June 27, 2007
Dole Food Company, Inc. commends the hard work of the leadership of the Congressional trade committees and applauds the agreement to extend the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act. Dole urges Members of Congress to strongly support this agreement by voting in favor of legislation to extend the ATPDEA for 8 months.
Dole is the world's largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and fresh-cut flowers, with operations and employees around the world. Dole has significant operations in the Andean region with a strong track record of providing its nearly 14,000 employees with high quality, good paying jobs. Dole's presence in the region provides economic stability in these countries.
Michael Carter, Dole's Executive Vice President and General Counsel stated, "The ATPDEA has played a crucial role in encouraging Dole to make significant investments in the Andean region, such as our flower production -- which supports nearly 6,500 good paying jobs in the region. On behalf of the many thousands of Dole employees in the Andean region, Dole applauds the bipartisan agreement to extend the ATPDEA and urges strong support for its swift approval."
Dole Food Company, Inc., with 2006 revenues of $6.2 billion, is the world's largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and fresh-cut flowers. Dole markets a growing line of packaged foods and frozen fruit and is a produce industry leader in nutrition education and research.
This release contains "forward-looking statements," within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Forward looking statements, which are based on management's current expectations, are generally identifiable by the use of terms such as "may," "will," "expects," "believes," "intends" and similar expressions. The potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied herein include weather-related phenomena; market responses to industry volume pressures; product and raw materials supplies and pricing; changes in interest and currency exchange rates; economic crises and security risks in developing countries; international conflict; and quotas, tariffs and other governmental actions. Further information on the factors that could affect Dole's financial results is included in its SEC filings, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K.