Origin Agritech Announces GMO Corn Development and Commercialization Collaboration

BEIJING,July 31,2020 --Origin Agritech Ltd. (NASDAQ: SEED)(the "Company" or "Origin"),an agriculture technology company,today announced that the Company has entered into a collaboration agreement with National Maize Improvement Center of China (NMICC),a leading agricultural research institute,to develop and commercialize new GMO corn traits.

NMICC has a strong history of success in developing new varieties of corn,having developed 64 hybrids,that are grown on more than 30 million hectares,accounting for approximately 15% of all the corn grown in China. NMICC has invested significant resources and spent many years developing new GMO corn traits in anticipation of China going GMO positive.

This collaboration marks the first time that Origin has worked with NMICC,thus expanding on the company's already rich alliances with agricultural R&D institutions in China.

"We are pleased to be working with Origin Agritech,as we have followed their progress over the years and have been extremely impressed," said Director of NMICC Jingsheng Lai. "They are one of only a couple of GMO seed companies in China that is vertically integrated,making them the ideal partner,with all the capabilities necessary to take new seed traits to market."

"NMICC is famous in the agricultural community in China for their development of new varieties of corn," said Dr. Gengchen Han,Origin's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We are excited to partner with them,as I am confident that together we will help to increase domestic corn production and also reduce the usage of toxic pesticides by bringing innovative corn seed traits to market."

About National Maize Improvement Center of China

National Maize Improvement Center of China (NMICC) was Jointly established in 1998 by the Ministry of Agriculture and China Agriculture University (CAU),the NMICC focuses on breeding of maize varieties and the study of GMO crops. Since its founding,the NMICC has produced 64 commercial maize hybrids and several GMO corn traits and planted more than 30 million hectares of corn—approximately 15% of all the corn in China.

About Origin Agritech Limited

Origin Agritech Limited,founded in 1997 and headquartered in Zhong-Guan-Cun (ZGC) Life Science Park in Beijing,is China's leading agricultural technology. In crop seed biotechnologies,Origin Agritech's phytase corn was the first transgenic corn to receive the Bio-Safety Certificate from China's Ministry of Agriculture. Over the years,Origin has established a robust biotechnology seed pipeline including products with glyphosate tolerance and pest resistance (Bt) traits. For further information,please visit the Company's website at: http://www.originseed.com.cnor http://www.originseed.com.cn/en/.

Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the federal securities laws,including Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,as amended,and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements address expected future business and financial performance and financial condition,and contain words like "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek," "will," "would," "target," and similar expressions and variations. Forward-looking statements address matters that are uncertain. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are based on assumptions and expectations which may not be realized. They are based on management's current expectations,assumptions,estimates and projections about the Company and the industry in which the Company operates but involve a number of risks and uncertainties,many of which are beyond the company's control. Some of the important factors that could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those discussed in forward-looking statements are: failure to develop and market new products and optimally manage product life cycles; ability to respond to market acceptance,rules,regulations and policies affecting our products; failure to appropriately manage process safety and product stewardship issues; changes in laws and regulations or political conditions; global economic and capital markets conditions,such as inflation,interest and currency exchange rates; business or supply disruptions; natural disasters and weather events and patterns; ability to protect and enforce the company's intellectual property rights; and separation of underperforming or non-strategic assets or businesses. The company undertakes no duty or obligation to publicly revise or update any forward-looking statements as a result of future developments,or new information or otherwise,should circumstances change,except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable,it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct,and actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results. You are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements contained herein and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements,which are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements.

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