Origin Agritech inaugurates Xinjiang corn seed processing center

Origin Agritech Limited ("Origin" or the "Company"), a technology-focused supplier of hybrid and genetically modified crop seeds in China, announced that Xinjiang Origin, a subsidiary of Origin Agritech, held an opening ceremony for its regional facility at Bole, Xinjiang on September 9, 2012.

Dr. Gengchen Han, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Dr. James Chen, Chief Financial Officer of Origin hosted the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Senior officials from the Ministry of Agriculture as well as the Fifth Agricultural Construction Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps attended the event as honorary guests.

Established in June, 2011, Xinjiang Origin is a joint venture seed company between Origin and Xinjiang Jinbo Seed ("Jinbo"). Jinbo is a prominent local seed company affiliated with the Fifth Agricultural Construction Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. Origin holds a 51% ownership stake of the RMB100 million registered capital investment and retains the exclusive joint venture partnership with Jinbo in Xinjiang.

With a total investment of RMB170 million, the state-of-the-art facility will mainly produce, process, package, and sell high-quality hybrid corn seeds to the domestic Chinese market. The joint venture will increase the Company's total seed processing capacity and expand marketing channels to distribute Origin's hybrid products to the northwest region in China. The Xinjiang Origin's facility, along with the seed production land of the Fifth Agricultural Construction Division, deploys modern technologies and full mechanization throughout the entire production process from land preparation and seeding to product packaging. The processing facility employs advanced corn husker system, which is one of the largest corn huskers in the world. The production base uses modern drip irrigation systems and advanced farming equipment for corn seed production.

Dr. Gengchen Han, Chairman and CEO of Origin, commented, "Xinjiang Origin not only addresses the increasing demand for our superior hybrid seed products, but diversifies our cost structure and production base, and expands our sales channels into a new market. With our new management team, leaner corporate structure and the new facility, we are now poised for the next stage of growth."

"We are excited to work with Jinbo. By integrating our local partner's advantages in natural resources and operational experience with our robust research capability, quality management and services, Origin's strategic vision to build a world-class modern seed processing center is in the making," Dr. Han concluded.