Vancouver, B.C. 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 announces 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 significant 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: [email protected]

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, beverages, and dietary supplements. 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 and supplement industries, GLG’s Naturals+ product line enables 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.

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