CHANGGE and BEIJING, China, Dec. 9 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Zhongpin Inc. ("Zhongpin", Nasdaq: HOGS), a leading meat and food processing company in the People's Republic of China ("China"), today announced it would begin production in its new chilled and frozen pork plant in Tianjin on January 20, 2010. Zhongpin's construction of its new chilled and frozen pork processing plant in Tianjin has been accelerated. The new facility will begin initial pork production on January 20. When all the construction phases are completed in 2010, the Tianjin plant will have an annual capacity of 100,000 metric tons for chilled and frozen pork. Mr. Xianfu Zhu, Chairman and CEO of Zhongpin, said, "We are very pleased that our new pork plant in Tianjin will begin producing in mid January, ahead of schedule, which will help satisfy the nation's surging demand for chilled and frozen pork during the peak season of the Chinese New Year and Spring Festival, which in 2010 runs from February 14 through February 28 and is also celebrated before and after those dates. "We are confident that our high product quality, good retail locations, and dependable pork supply will please our customers in Tianjin, Beijing, and the other markets in northern China who will be served by the new Tianjin plant. We already serve these markets, and our new plant will guarantee better service and broader market coverage. Our timing should give us good market share gains as we expand our presence in this important high-growth region." Under China's five-year plan for 2006 though 2010, the Tianjin Binhai New Area is becoming the country's third growth-and-development region for the next two decades, just as the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta regions grew in the past two decades. The government's support, incentives, and direct investment in infrastructure in the Tianjin Binhai New Area will create new growth for both China's northern region and its national economy. In addition, Tianjin serves as the land logistics center and ocean shipping port for much of northern China, so Tianjin, and Zhongpin, will benefit directly from the growth in the region. China expects its national economy to grow about 9 percent in 2010. That higher growth should help enable higher pork consumption and give Zhongpin additional support for its market expansions. Mr. Zhu continued, "Our new Tianjin plant will not only serve the northern China market, it also serves another function. In locating, designing, engineering, and constructing the plant and our regional cold-chain logistics network, we have focused on creating the best master template for our future plants and distribution networks. It incorporates all the knowledge and wisdom we have about how to produce and distribute the most outstanding and safest pork products at the most cost-effective prices. "So the Tianjin plant is our model for the future and is an important strategic step forward for Zhongpin. We expect to duplicate the construction, systems designs, and details from the Tianjin plant and network as we extend our high-volume success from our home region in central China into the northern and other regional markets of China." About Zhongpin Zhongpin Inc. is a meat and food processing company that specializes in pork and pork products, vegetables, and fruits in China. Its distribution network in the China covers 20 provinces plus Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Chongqing and includes more than 3,000 retail outlets. Zhongpin's export markets include the European Union and Southeast Asia. For more information about Zhongpin, please visit Zhongpin's website at http://www.zpfood.com/ . Safe harbor statement Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements made under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Zhongpin has based its forward-looking statements largely on its current expectations and projections about future events and trends that it believes may affect its business strategy, results of operations, financial condition, and financing needs. These projections involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, which may include, but are not limited to, such factors as downturns in the Chinese economy, unanticipated changes in product demand, any effect from the A(H1N1) virus on Zhongpin's market or sales, interruptions in the supply of live pigs and or raw pork, poor performance of the retail distribution network, delivery delays, freezer facility malfunctions, Zhongpin's ability to build and commence new production facilities according to intended timelines, the ability to prepare Zhongpin for growth, the ability to predict Zhongpin's future financial performance and financing ability, changes in regulations, and other risks detailed in Zhongpin's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. You are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating Zhongpin's forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on those forward-looking statements, which are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. All information provided in this news release is as of the date of this news release. Zhongpin does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. For more information, please contact: Zhongpin Inc. Mr. Sterling Song (English and Chinese) Investor Relations Manager Phone: +86-10-8286-1788 x101 in Beijing Email: Mr. Warren (Feng) Wang (English and Chinese) Chief Financial Officer Phone: +86-10-8286-1788 x104 in Beijing Email: Christensen Mr. Yuanyuan Chen (English and Chinese) Cell: +86-139-2337-7882 in Beijing Email: Mr. Tom Myers (English) Cell: +86-139-1141-3520 in Beijing Email: Ms. Kathy Li (English and Chinese) Phone: +1-212-618-1978 in the USA Email: DATASOURCE: Zhongpin Inc. CONTACT: Zhongpin Inc.: Sterling Song (English and Chinese), Investor Relations Manager, +86-10-8286-1788 x101 in Beijing, , or Warren (Feng) Wang (English and Chinese), Chief Financial Officer, +86-10-8286-1788 x104 in Beijing, ; Christensen: Yuanyuan Chen (English and Chinese), +86-139-2337-7882 in Beijing, ; Tom Myers (English), +86-139-1141-3520 in Beijing, , or Kathy Li (English and Chinese) +1-212-618-1978 in the USA, Web site: http://www.zpfood.com/

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