Origin Agritech celebrates groundbreaking ceremony and commences construction of innovative 100,000-ton corn drying base in Shihezi, Xinjiang

Date:07-13-2023

Origin Agritech Ltd. (NASDAQ: SEED) (the "Company" or "Origin"), an agriculture technology company, announced the groundbreaking ceremony marking the start of construction for an innovative 100,000-ton corn drying base in Shihezi, Xinjiang, where one of Origin's Nutritionally Enhanced Corn (NEC) plantation bases is located. This project is spearheaded by the Company's joint venture, Baodao Origin Agritech and Livestock Co. Ltd.

The venture, bolstered by an investment of RMB 80 million, or $11.1 million, provided by Origin's joint venture partner and supported by regional financial institutions, is set to fortify Origin's Nutritionally Enhanced Corn (NEC) supply chain.

Mr. Guangju Wang, head of NEC Corn Business and General Manager of Baodao Origin, expressed, "With our revolutionary Nutritionally Enhanced Corn (NEC), we're reshaping the agricultural industry. This unique corn variety allows hogs to thrive without expensive soybean meal supplementation, thereby doubling profit margins for feedstock companies. Consequently, the resulting high demand for NEC has allowed us to expand from a $4.4 billion corn seed market to a $83.2 billion corn feedstock market. This leap enlarges our market opportunity by nearly 20-fold, emphasizing the immense potential for Origin within the corn supply chain."

Mr. Chunying Kang, County Mayor of 149th Regiment County, Shihezi, Xinjiang, expressed his appreciation, "We are incredibly grateful and delighted with the significant investment Baodao Origin Agritech and Livestock Co. Ltd. are making in modernizing Xinjiang's agricultural sector. Their pioneering efforts to establish a modern corn drying and silo facility are truly transformative. This facility is set to drastically reduce the risk of catastrophic losses, which have unfortunately become more frequent with traditional sun drying methods, particularly in the face of climate change and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns."

The state-of-the-art facility will include a drying base, a storage base, and supporting facilities. The drying base will have the capacity to process 1,200 metric tons daily, while the storage base will be able to hold up to 50,000 tons of produce. The construction is expected to complete and ready for use by mid September to meet the production needs for the upcoming 2023 harvesting season.

Dr. Gengchen Han of Origin Agritech expressed his gratitude, "We are deeply appreciative of the commitment and aligned vision for agricultural innovation shown by the government representatives. Their participation in the groundbreaking ceremony emphasizes a shared determination to pioneer agricultural modernization in Shihezi, Xinjiang. As we lay the foundation for this state-of-the-art facility, Origin remains committed to bolstering our Nutritionally Enhanced Corn (NEC) supply chain. Together with the first corn drying plant completed, we are planning to build more such facilities next year to set up a corn supply chain throughout China."