Origin Agritech develops strategic business unit for premium branded glyphosate products

Origin Agritech Limited, a vertically integrated supplier of hybrid and genetically-modified crop seeds in China, announced it has developed a strategic pesticide business unit for premium branded chemical products. The company expects a premium branded glyphosate product to be marketed immediately into the domestic agricultural market for the 2010 selling season. This branded product expects to be sold at a premium to other non-branded products in the current Chinese marketplace and will work in conjunction with Origins glyphosate-resistant seed portfolio, currently in regulatory approval phases. The pesticide portfolio developed will be designed to work synergistically with the existing hybrid and genetically modified seed products.

The current pesticide market in China is roughly a 90 Billion RMB industry in China. Origins pesticide products are contract-produced by one of the highest-quality producers in China. The products will be marketed and distributed through Origins existing agricultural network of approximately 3,800 first-level distributors and 65,000 second-level distributors and retailers spanning all 30 mainland China provinces.

"We believe this continues our goal to become the dominant agricultural solutions provider for the benefit of the Chinese farmer. These complementary products will enhance the sales of both products and add additional value to our existing platform. " said Liang Yuan, Origin president and CEO. "Not only does this allow us to provide the best products to our existing customer base, but it allows us to provide higher levels of service. "