July 12, 2012

Origin Agritech's corn seed research projects continue to advance

The genetically modified ("GM") corn seed pipeline and hybrid corn seed development programme of Origin Agritech Limited ("Origin" or the "Company") has seen good progress since the project has begun.

Genetically modified seed products in China must initially undergo a five-stage approval process consisting of Phase 1 - Laboratory Research, Phase 2 - Intermediate Test, Phase 3 - Environment Release Test, Phase 4 - Production Test, leading to the receipt of the Bio-Safety Certificate from Ministry of Agriculture ("MOA") in Phase 5. Currently, only domestic seed producers such as Origin Agritech are allowed to proceed through all five phases, while international companies are restricted to Phase 1 only and forbidden to proceed to Phases 2 through Phase 5.

Origin's genetically modified phytase corn was the first GM corn seed which passed all five phases of the GM approval process and received notification of Bio-Safety Certificate. Origin has further incorporated phytase traits into two of its best-selling commercial corn hybrids. Commercialization of these two corn hybrids is pending approval from the Chinese government. Two additional corn hybrids with GM phytase traits are undergoing variety production test.

Phytase is an essential element for the growth and development of all animals by increasing phosphorous absorption. Phytase transgenic corn inputs the phytase trait directly into corn, thus reducing costs for animal feed producers by eliminating the need to mix phytase and corn ingredients together. Origin's GM phytase-producing corn is expected to reduce the need for inorganic phosphate supplements as animals will directly absorb more phosphate from their feed, reducing animal feed's high cost.

In addition to GM phytase corn, the Company has been conducting research on other GM traits including herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, nitrogen efficiency, and drought stress tolerance traits in crop seeds.

Along with this press release, a supplementary slide showing Origin's GM corn seed pipeline has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").

In addition to GM crop seeds, Origin has a large R&D program developing conventional hybrid crop seeds. In China, new hybrid seed variety needs to go through an official approval process prior to sales. This approval process typically involves three to four years of registration trials and normally proceeds according to the following sequential steps:

Along with this press release, a supplementary slide showing Origin's progress in hybrid corn registration trials and approval from 2009 to 2012 has been filed with the SEC.

In 2012, a total of 64 hybrids were under various stages of registration process: among the 64 hybrids, 33 are at Pre-Registration stage; 18 at Registration Trial 1 stage; 5 at Registration Trial 2 stage; 5 at Field Demo stage; and 3 at Registration Trial 2 + Field Demo stage. As the result of multi-year trials, 3 corn hybrids have been approved in 2012.

Dr Gengchen Han, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Origin Agritech, commented, "During recent years, we have established a leading plant genetic technology platform resulting in one of China's largest portfolios in GM corn seeds. We are well positioned to capitalise on the advent of genetically modified seed opportunities in China. In addition to our proven GM technology and robust pipeline, our solid operational foundation with wide-reaching sales and technical support, growing in-house germplasm library, and advanced processing and production would help us compete effectively in the market. Our goal is to continue utilising modern biotechnology to create high-quality GM and hybrid seed products and provide result-oriented solutions to farmers."