ArborGen and Vallourec Sign Eucalyptus Commercialisation Agreement

Today, ArborGen, a world leader in the development and commercialisation of technologies that improve the productivity of trees, announced that it has entered into an agreement with Vallourec S.A. that gives ArborGen exclusive rights to develop and commercialise Vallourec's genetically improved eucalyptus clones in Brazil. The partnership will expand the products ArborGen can offer its customers, as well as allow it to expand into new markets in Brazil. The company will begin offering Vallourec seedlings in November 2020.

ArborGen is one of the largest commercial suppliers of eucalyptus and pine tree seedlings in Brazil. ArborGen already has exclusive rights to commercialise International Paper's and Gerdau's eucalyptus clones in Brazil, and continues to also develop its own proprietary eucalyptus clones which it is beginning to commercialise.

ArborGen currently operates three nurseries in Brazil, complemented by a network of contract producers that allow it to address all of the major eucalyptus markets in Brazil. ArborGen's eucalyptus products are available in all of the primary eucalyptus growing regions in Brazil including the states of Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, São Paulo and Paraná.

Gabriela Monnerat, the General Manager of ArborGen Brazil, said, "The agreement with Vallourec allows ArborGen to provide new clones that offer growers high yields and high wood density. In addition, the Vallourec clones demonstrate very good drought tolerance ? an increasingly important trait as eucalyptus plantings in Brazil expands into dryer regions and as rainfall patterns change as a result of global climate change."

The Brazilian forestry industry is one of the largest, fastest-growing in the world, and Brazil is the world's largest producer and exporter of hardwood pulp. The eucalyptus market utilises approximately 700 million seedlings per year.

Commenting on the current COVID-19 situation in Brazil, ArborGen's CEO, Andrew Baum, said, "ArborGen's customers planting programmes have to date been affected to varying degrees by the impact of the global pandemic as planting crews and customers adjust to new health and safety measures. Having said that, as pulp and paper and charcoal used in the steel industry are primary end-markets for forestry in Brazil, we are expecting demand for our products to pick up in the second half of the fiscal year as some customers accelerate planting to recover from delays earlier in the year, and as ArborGen continues to expand its customer base in new regions."

Further information on ArborGen Holdings Limited can be viewed at our web site http://www.arborgenholdings.com.

ArborGen

ArborGen is the largest commercial global seedling supplier and a leading provider of advanced genetics, for the forest industry. Employing state-of-the-art technology, ArborGen is developing high-value products that significantly improve the productivity of a given acre of land by enabling our customers to grow trees that yield more wood per acre with greater consistency and quality in a shorter period of time. ArborGen's products are improving the sustainability of plantation forests while helping to meet the world's growing need for wood, fibre and energy. For more information, please visit ArborGen's website at www.arborgen.com.

Vallourec

Vallourec is one of the leading suppliers of long steel in the Americas and specialty steel in the world. In Brazil, it also produces flat steel and iron ore, activities that increase the mix of products offered to the market and the competitiveness of its operations. Vallourec is also the largest recycler in Latin America and, globally, annually transforming millions of tons of scrap into steel, reinforcing its commitment to the sustainable development of the regions where it operates. Vallourec shares are listed on the stock exchanges of São Paulo, New York and Madrid. The company uses Eucalyptus to make coal used in steel production.