VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / September 26, 2017 / GLG Life Tech Corporation (TSX: GLG) ("GLG" or the "Company"), a global leader
in the agricultural and commercial development of high-quality zero-calorie natural sweeteners, is pleased to announce today
another major breakthrough in its agricultural R&D program. GLG's industry-leading agricultural team has successfully produced
a seed that will grow its Super RA variety of stevia with unprecedented levels of RA content.
In late 2014, the Company announced that it developed a new stevia seedling variety with approximately 75% Rebaudioside A ("Reb
A") content relative to the total steviol glycosides ("TSG") present in the leaf. GLG dubbed this seedling variety – and its
further progeny – Super RA, and proceeded to apply for patent protection for this variety. The Company has since been further
developing this seedling into a mature robust plant, as well as the development of seed that will be used to grow the Super RA
plants.
Today, the Company announced that it has successfully developed the Super RA seed in another major stevia agriculture
breakthrough. This major development carries three benefits.
First, the extraordinarily high levels of Reb A levels present in the Super RA leaf are expected to dramatically cut GLG's cost
of production of Reb A extracts. The Reb levels in the leaf plants grown from the Super RA seed are nearly 80% (79.36%) of TSG,
with the TSG at an unusually high level of 15%. This results in the Super RA leaf itself comprising 12% Reb A content. Typical
stevia leaf has Reb A levels of approximately 6%. Simply put, GLG's Super RA leaf contains twice the amount of Reb A as typical
stevia leaf. With leaf being the major cost component of stevia extracts, and with only half the amount of leaf required to produce
GLG'S Reb A extracts made from Super RA leaf, GLG expects to achieve significantly lower production costs by using the Super RA
leaf.
Second, the ability to grow the plant from seed is crucial for preventing third parties from the unauthorized use of the
Company's patent-protected Super RA leaf. In addition to patent protections, GLG's seeds, including the Super RA seed, produce
plants that will not themselves generate the same Super RA seeds; any plants grown from such second-generation seeds will be vastly
inferior. In other words, in order to plant for successive seasons, farmers must be given access to GLG's original seeds. This puts
GLG in a unique position to control, and to benefit from, its Super RA agriculture achievement, without the risks of intellectual
property loss inherent to seedlings alone.
Third, this new seed brings great benefits for farmers as well. The cost of utilizing seed over seedlings is about 80% lower for
seed. Based on GLG's experience with its prior H3 seed family, which has proven to be extremely popular among Chinese farmers,
given its lower cost of growing, vigorous plants, and larger biomass produced per acre, farmers will have strong incentive to grow
the Super RA plants for GLG. With a lower cost basis, GLG also expects to contract with farmers at highly favorable prices while
still providing the farmers with a great return for their efforts.
Dr. Luke Zhang, CEO and Chairman of GLG, commented: "The development of the Super RA seed is a remarkable achievement by our GLG
Agriculture subsidiary in China. Our team has had a number of major stevia agriculture developments since 2014 and the development
of the Super RA seed is one our biggest achievements to date. GLG is the only stevia company in China that has a subsidiary
dedicated to the development of enhanced stevia seeds and seedlings and has received a number of patents on its work and awards.
GLG first successfully patented its H3 seed five years ago and stevia farmers love working with it due to the lower cost compared
to seedlings. GLG is also the only company in China to have achieved patented seed technology that grows single-use hybrids with
high plant mass, high steviol glycosides and high Rebaudioside A. The Super RA seed will take over from our H3 seed and deliver two
times the Reb A weight in our leaf compared to existing stevia seedlings available in the market. The farmers will only be able to
buy the Super RA seed from GLG, which is expected to provide GLG more control over the stevia market in China. The lower cost of
growing to the farmer will make the Super RA seed very appealing to the farmer resulting in a win for the farmer and a win for GLG.
No other stevia competitor in China has this technology or a patent to develop seeds for high RA plants."
Brian Meadows, President of GLG, commented, "This Super RA seed achievement is truly a win-win-win. It is a win for GLG's
customers given expected lower costs of production. It is a win for the farmers given the 80% lower costs with stevia seeds rather
than seedlings. And it is a win for the Company's shareholders, given the Company's expected ability to expand its customer base,
revenues, and profits atop these substantially lower production costs and unique position to utilize the Super RA seeds. GLG
expects the benefits from the development of the Super RA seed to flow for years to come. In 2018, the Company will begin rolling
out its Super RA seed in limited quantities, and in 2019, the Company expects to begin planting the Super RA seed on a large,
virtually unlimited, scale. "
For further information, please contact: Brian Meadows, President Phone: +1 (604) 285-2602 ext. 105 Fax: +1 (604) 285-2606
Email: ir@glglifetech.com
About GLG Life Tech Corporation
GLG Life Tech Corporation is a global leader in the supply of high-purity zero calorie natural sweeteners including stevia and
monk fruit extracts used in food and beverages. GLG's vertically integrated operations, which incorporate our Fairness to Farmers
program and emphasize sustainability throughout, cover each step in the stevia and monk fruit supply chains including non-GMO seed
and seedling breeding, natural propagation, growth and harvest, proprietary extraction and refining, marketing and distribution of
the finished products. Additionally, to further meet the varied needs of the food and beverage industry, GLG has launched its
Naturals+ product line, enabling it to supply a host of complementary ingredients reliably sourced through its supplier network in
China. For further information, please visit www.glglifetech.com.
Forward-looking statements: This press release may contain certain information that may constitute "forward-looking statements"
and "forward looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws.
Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not
expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or
"believes" or variations of such words and phrases or words and phrases that state or indicate that certain actions, events or
results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved.
While the Company has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations about future events, the statements are
not guarantees of the Company's future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such
factors include amongst others the effects of general economic conditions, consumer demand for our products and new orders from our
customers and distributors, changing foreign exchange rates and actions by government authorities, uncertainties associated with
legal proceedings and negotiations, industry supply levels, competitive pricing pressures and misjudgments in the course of
preparing forward-looking statements. Specific reference is made to the risks set forth under the heading "Risk Factors" in the
Company's Annual Information Form for the financial year ended December 31, 2016. In light of these factors, the forward-looking
events discussed in this press release might not occur.
Further, although the Company has attempted to identify factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ
materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not
to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
As there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events
could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements.
SOURCE: GLG Life Tech Corporation
