Ktg Agrar continues to extend its value chain in the food sector: Purchase of a commercial building as fresh produce center in Linthe (Brandenburg)

CORPORATE NEWS

KTG Agrar continues to extend its value chain in the food sector:
KTG Agrar acquires commercial building as fresh produce center in Linthe
(Brandenburg)

Hamburg, 18 December 2012 - More and more German consumers prefer to put
fresh produce grown in Germany on the table. An increasing proportion of
these products is supplied by the agricultural company KTG Agrar AG. 'We
offer consumers food produced to high standards in six German states,' says
Siegfried Hofreiter, CEO of KTG Agrar AG. 'We not only grow the food but
also continue to extend our value chain from our fields right into
consumers' kitchens.'

The next step under this strategy has just been taken. KTG Agrar AG is
building a new facility for packaging fresh vegetables on the fringes of
Berlin. For this purpose, a building comprising 13,000 square metres of
useful space has been purchased on a commercial estate in Linthe in the
rural district of Potsdam-Mittelmark in the state of Brandenburg. The
coming months will see the construction of a state-of-the-art sorting and
packing plant next to the motorway A9 which is capable of handling some 20
tons of potatoes, onions, carrots and other fresh vegetables per hour. The
total investment volume will be in the low single-digit millions. Apart
from being located only a few kilometres from Berlin, Linthe also offers
easy access from KTG's farms in Nonnendorf and Linthe. The plant will also
offer contract packaging services for third parties. Talks have already
been held with food retailers, with KTG being able to draw on business
relationships cultivated in the fresh produce and frozen food sectors
during the past twenty years.

Consumers going for quality and freshness
Consumers are increasingly giving preference to regional products for a
variety of reasons. Apart from wishing to support German farmers, they want
high-quality products and are aware that short lines of transport not only
mean greater freshness but also less environmental impact through
transportation.

Studies highlight trend towards regionality
In a survey carried out by emnid on behalf of the Federal Ministry of
Agriculture in late 2011, half of the respondents said that they looked out
for local food when shopping. 79 percent were even prepared to pay a
premium for local food. The German Agricultural Society (DLG) believes that
this is a mega trend which is set to last for the next ten to fifteen
years.

KTG benefiting from trend
KTG Agrar recognised the trend towards regional and high-quality food early
on. Already back in 1994 the company started growing such ecological
produce as maize and rye. Today about half of the company's 35,000 hectares
of farmland in eastern Germany and Lithuania are dedicated to organic
produce. In addition, KTG produces high-quality conventional produce
ranging from grain to rapeseed and vegetables. The 2011 takeover of frozen
food manufacturer Frenzel Tiefkühlkost marked KTG's entry in the
value-added food processing sector. As a result, the products marketed by
KTG Agrar benefit from a unique quality management system encompassing
every stage from the field to the retail environments where consumers buy
the products. Capitalising on the strong interest in regionally grown,
fully traceable food, the company has secured several important new
listings with leading German retailers and large-scale consumers. Says
Siegfried Hofreiter: 'The trend towards high-quality food grown in Germany
has only just started and offers us a lot of potential going forward.'


ABOUT KTG AGRAR
With cultivable land of more than 35,000 hectares, KTG Agrar AG (ISIN:
DE000A0DN1J4) is one of the leading producers of agricultural commodities
in Europe. As an integrated supplier, the company produces agricultural
commodities and renewable energy and food. The Hamburg-based company's core
area of expertise is the organic and traditional cultivation of market
products such as cereals, maize and rapeseed. For organic market products
KTG Agrar is the European market leader. The company mainly produces in
Germany but has also operated production in the EU member state of
Lithuania since 2005. The company's third mainstay is the production of
bio-energy. At present, KTG Agrar operates biogas plants with a total
capacity of around 30 megawatts. As a result of the takeover of Frenzel
Tiefkühlkost in 2011, KTG has expanded the value chain by the production of
food. In the year 2011, KTG achieved a total output of EUR 112,1 million
and EBIT of EUR 15,0 million. Since November 2007 the company is listed on
the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and has currently about 600 employees. Further
information can be found at www.ktg-agrar.de.

CONTACT
Investor Relations / Presse
Fabian Lorenz
IR.on AG
Phone: +49 221 914097-6
E-mail: fabian.lorenz@ir-on.com


End of Corporate News

Unternehmen: KTG Agrar AG - ISIN: DE000A0DN1J4