FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nippon Paper Chemicals (President: Toshio Inoue) will transfer production of stevia and glycyrrhizin from the Komatsushima Mill in Tokushima Prefecture to NPC’s Gotsu Mill in Shimane Prefecture, as detailed below.

This transfer follows the move by Nippon Paper Industries to halt paper production at its Komatsushima Mill, which has significantly changed the business conditions for on-site sweetener production. NPC evaluated its production cost and the future sales and came to the following decision.