CHS and Agrico Group Form Joint Venture

ST. PAUL, Minnesota -

CHS Inc., a leading energy, grains and foods company, and Agrico Group, headquartered in Moscow, Federal Republic of Russia, have formed a joint venture company named ACG to manage origination, logistics, export and worldwide marketing of Russian wheat, feed grains and potentially oilseeds.

The ACG joint venture does not include other Agrico businesses or operations. Employees working in Agrico grain origination, logistics and grain marketing will become part of the joint venture company, managed jointly in the Geneva, Switzerland, CHS Europe office.

“The formation of ACG further integrates our Black Sea strategy, giving CHS access to Russian grain origination, thereby improving our ability to serve global customers,” says Claudio Scarrozza, general manager, CHS Europe.

“The creation of this joint venture will allow Agrico Group to focus on its core activities, such as farming, meat production and consumer-ready fresh vegetables,” says Mr. Georgy Bogomolov, vice chairman, Agrico Group. He added that the CHS and Agrico partnership is an important example of interest of large global, agricultural companies in the future of Russian agriculture.

CHS Inc. (www.chsinc.com) is a diversified energy, grains and foods company committed to providing the essential resources that enrich lives around the world. A Fortune 200 company, CHS is owned by farmers, ranchers and cooperatives, along with thousands of preferred stockholders across the United States. CHS supplies energy, crop nutrients, grain, livestock feed, food and food ingredients, along with business solutions including insurance, financial and risk management services. The company operates petroleum refineries/pipelines and manufactures, markets and distributes Cenex(R) brand refined fuels, lubricants, propane and renewable energy products. CHS is listed on the NASDAQ at CHSCP.

Agrico is a privately-owned farm operator in Southern Russia that uses western-style practices. Farm operations began in 1999 and now include roughly 85,000 hectares. Agrico primarily produces wheat, rapeseed, potatoes, carrots, onions and animal feed. The animal feed mill supports production of 75,000 (expanding to 350,000) live pigs sold annually to local processors. It sells 80 percent of its grain locally with the balance exported worldwide. Agrico is adding branding and packaging to its production, storage and distribution infrastructure to serve the fast-growing Russian middle class consumers. This includes branded vegetable packing and the introduction of branded pork products (bacon, chops, etc.), that will be supported by slaughter and meat processing facilities under construction.

Source: CHS Inc.

Lani Jordan, +1-651-355-4946, lani.jordan at chsinc.com, or Annette Degnan, +1-651-355-5126, annette.degnan at chsinc.com, both of CHS Inc.; or Vladimir Bovin of Agrico Group, +7495-747-0020, agrico at agrico.ru