Farmind Corporation (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Tatsuo Horiuchi; hereafter, “Farmind”) are pleased to announce that Farmind has agreed to conclude a business alliance with National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Sakae Noguchi; hereafter, “ZEN-NOH”).

Farmind has constituted a comprehensive platform that provides functions and services to connect fruits and vegetables distribution from upstream to downstream, which is mainly the cold chains constituted by 14 processing centers nationwide and a nationwide logistics network, and deliver high-quality, delicious fruits and vegetables to consumers.
For the aim of contributing to the promotion of Japanese agriculture, Farmind is expanding its handling of domestic fruits and vegetables in addition to imported fruits and vegetables such as banana and avocados, which have been its main products over the years, and also developing a variety of production businesses in Farmind’s group, including Hokkaido Sanchoku Center, the largest scale in open-air production firm in Japan.

Through this business alliance, among ZEN-NOH, which is broadly engaged in agricultural promotion rooted in regional characteristics nationwide, and Farmind group, which has a comprehensive fruits and vegetables distribution, mainly constituted by nationwide cold chains, ZEN-NOH and Farmind will maximize synergies through the mutual use of both infrastructures and know-how, support domestic agricultural production by significantly improving the efficiency of fruits and vegetables distribution, and ensure a stable supply of high-quality fruits and vegetables to consumers. Specifically, both companies will work on the following alliance items.

Based on Farmind’s corporate philosophy of "linking farmers with consumers", Farmind will continue to strengthen the supply system of fruits and vegetables in Japan and overseas and improve the quality through its nationwide cold chains, deliver fresh and delicious fruits and vegetables from farms to consumers, and contribute to the development of domestic and overseas fruits and vegetables distribution from various perspectives.

1. (1) Company name:
   National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations
2. (2) Representative:
   Sakae Noguchi
3. (3) Establishment:
   March 30, 1972
4. (4) Location:
   Otemachi 1-3-1 JA Building, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
5. (5) Business:
   Sales of agricultural and livestock products, Supplies of productive materials and daily necessities and installation of shared-use facilities, etc.