Agria Establishes Strategic Cooperation With Guiyang Government

Agria Corporation GRO (the "Company" or "Agria") refers to its earlier announcement on May 15 establishing the Agria-Lincoln Partnership and today announces that it has established a five year cooperation agreement with the city government of Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province in China, to modernize agricultural production in the area. With the support of the Guiyang government, Agria will take active measures to implement modernized agricultural technology to Guiyang with the goal of contributing to Guiyang's agricultural modernization efforts as well as its overall economic development. The potential market opportunity is significant for Agria as the population in Guizhou province exceeds 34 million residents while Guiyang's population is close to 3 million residents. Under the cooperation agreement, the two parties intend to cooperate on a number of development and modernization initiatives in and around Guiyang that include: The development of a China-New Zealand free trade demonstration park; The development of seed and livestock demonstration farms; Local government support for Agria to import its advanced agricultural technology, especially in livestock, into Guizhou; Participation including joint investments with relevant state-owned enterprise in promoting trade and investment activities; Setting up agricultural finance and trading businesses; Setting up a development fund to invest in local agricultural enterprises; and Educational exchange, vocational and professional training services. Mr. Alan Lai, Agria's Executive Chairman, commented, "We are pleased to partner with the Guiyang government to assist with their agricultural development and modernization efforts in the region. This high level of cooperation with the support of the Guiyang Government will facilitate technology and economic exchange between China and New Zealand. We are excited to play our role in contributing to the economies of both countries. Our efforts will be supported by key partners, including Lincoln University, to provide relevant technology, training and education support to the Guiyang initiative." A signing ceremony will occur on May 19th to commemorate this announcement. Key representatives at this event include Agria's Executive Chairman, Mr. Alan Lai, Standing Committee Member of The Provincial Government of Guizhou and Party Secretary of Guiyang Municipality, Mr Chen Gang and Lincoln University representative, Professor Bruce MacKenzie. Lincoln University's Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Andrew West, added, "We are thrilled to be involved in this project with Agria and look forward to contributing our applied commercial agriculture research and development capabilities to this project."