A.        Selected Financial Data

The following tables present our selected consolidated financial data for the periods indicated. In December 2016, our Parent approved a change in its and its subsidiaries’ fiscal year end from December 31 to June 30. In connection with the business combination, the shareholders of Union passed resolutions to change its fiscal year to June 30, which became effective upon closing of the business combination in March 2019, during an extraordinary general meeting held on February 27, 2019. Following the six-month period ended June 30, 2017 (the “Transition Period”), our fiscal year end has been June 30 of each year. Bioceres’ consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, which we refer to as IFRS, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board.

The information in this section is not intended to replace the audited financial statements appearing elsewhere in this report. You should read this selected financial data together with “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” and the financial statements and accompanying notes included in this report. The historical results are not necessarily indicative of Bioceres’ future results of operations or financial condition.

The table below provides a reconciliation of our loss for the periods to Adjusted EBITDA:

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

The following risk factors apply to the business and operations of Bioceres Crop Solutions. The occurrence of one or more of the events or circumstances described in these risk factors, alone or in combination with other events or circumstances, may have a material adverse effect on the business, cash flows, financial condition and results of operations of Bioceres Crop Solutions. You should carefully consider the following risk factors in addition to the other information included in this report, including matters addressed in the section entitled “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” We may face additional risks and uncertainties that are not presently known to us, or that we currently deem immaterial, which may also impair our business or financial condition. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes to the financial statements included herein.

Risks Related to Our Business

We may not be successful in developing marketable or commercial technologies.

Our success depends in part on our ability to identify and develop high-value crop productivity technologies for use in commercial products. Through our technology sourcing and product development collaborations we commit substantial efforts and other resources to accomplish this. It may take several years, if at all, before many of our products complete the development process and become available for production and commercialization.

As of the date of this report, many of our products have been commercialized by Rizobacter and Bioceres Semillas. There can be no assurance that our future crop productivity technologies will be viable for commercial use, or that we will be able to generate revenues from those technologies, in a significant manner or at all. If seeds or other products that contain our licensed seed traits or technology are unsuccessful in achieving their desired effect or otherwise fail to be commercialized, we will not receive revenues from our customers or royalty payments from the commercialization of the licensed seed traits and technologies we develop or license, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth strategy.

Seeds containing the seed traits or biological treatments that we develop may be unsuccessful or fail to achieve commercialization for any of the following reasons:

Our business and the commercialization of our products currently in development are subject to various government regulations and we or our collaborators may be unable to obtain, or may face delays in obtaining, necessary regulatory approvals.

Our business is generally subject to two types of regulations: (i) those that apply to our operations and (ii) those that apply to products containing or based on our technology. We are responsible for applying for and maintaining the regulatory approvals necessary for our operations, particularly those covering our field trials, bio-safety evaluations and feed and food tests. Under the terms of our joint venture agreements, we and our joint venture partners are jointly responsible for obtaining and maintaining the regulatory approvals necessary for the commercialization of products that contain our licensed seed traits and other technologies in the various relevant markets. Regulatory and legislative requirements affect the development, production and sale of our products, including the testing, commercializing and planting of seeds containing our biotechnology licensed seed traits. Failure to receive such approvals or non-compliance with the applicable regulatory regime could adversely impact our operations and business strategy. Additionally, we may face difficulties in obtaining regulatory approvals in jurisdictions in which we have not previously operated or in which we have limited experience.

In most of our key target markets, including the United States, regulatory approvals must be received prior to the importation and commercialization of transgenic products. Regulatory regimes in some of our key target markets may be more onerous. For example, in Argentina, the Argentine government’s regulation of agricultural biotechnology is handled primarily by two agencies, the Argentine National Advisory Commission on Agricultural Biotechnology (Comisión Nacional Asesora de Biotecnología Agropecuaria) (“CONABIA”), which regulates activity related to biosafety, and the National Food Safety and Quality Service (Servicio Nacional de Sanidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria), or SENASA, which regulates activity related to food and feed safety. Additionally, the National Market Regulator (Dirección Nacional de Mercados) must conduct an economic evaluation. When products containing our licensed seed traits or other technology reach large-scale field trials, bio-safety evaluations and commercial approval stages, if we, our joint ventures or other collaborators are unable to obtain the requisite regulatory approvals or if there is a delay in obtaining such approvals as a result of negative market perception, heightened regulatory standards or unfamiliarity with the applicable regulatory regime, such products will not be commercialized, which would negatively impact our business and results of operations.

Our EcoSeed business is dependent in large part on the success of a technology that we license and that remains subject to receipt of regulatory approval.

Most of our biotechnology licensed seed products currently under development incorporates HB4 technology (a yield improvement technology). We expect that the sale of biotech seeds that contain HB4 technology, our EcoSeed business, will comprise an increasingly significant portion of our future revenues. As a result, our future growth and financial performance will largely depend on our ability to receive or maintain regulatory approval for and to commercialize our licensed HB4 technology, and if this effort is unsuccessful we may not have the resources to pursue development of our other products and our business could be materially and adversely affected. We also depend on our continued exclusive use of the HB4 technology pursuant to the terms of licensing agreements with Parent, the National Scientific and Technical Research Council of Argentina (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas) (“CONICET”) and the National University of the Litoral. The Parent holds an exclusive license for HB4, which terminates on the expiration date of the last of the HB4 patents in 2033, unless terminated before such date in accordance with its terms. If this licensing agreement is declared unenforceable or invalid, we could lose access to one of our principal technologies and could become involved in a costly or time-consuming legal dispute.

The Parent is party to funding agreements pursuant to which certain investors have a right to the majority of the payments we may receive in connection with the commercialization of our technologies in certain crops.

Between 2005 and 2007, the Parent entered into agreements with various investors to obtain funding in the aggregate amount of US$1.0 million for research and early stage development of technology relating to a specific sunflower gene, Hahb 4, that is intended to promote drought tolerance in crops. The funding agreements grant the investors, in the aggregate, the right to receive 52.8% of the rights and royalties payable to us from the successful commercialization of the resulting technology with respect to soybean, wheat and corn. As of the date hereof, the promoter element of the technology developed in connection with our research and development of Hahb 4 is being incorporated into a leading soybean product that Verdeca is developing, which also incorporates our HB4 technology. In addition, the licenses of Parent’s HB4 technology that Parent has granted to other developers and our joint ventures with respect to certain crops include the Hahb 4 promoter element. Accordingly, we may have to pay third parties royalties otherwise due to us in the absence of these agreements and we may not receive the full economic benefit of the commercialization of certain of our technologies. In addition, the investors party to these funding arrangements may claim to be entitled to payments in addition to the royalties, which we believe are within the scope of such agreements. The investors may also dispute the allocation of revenue as it relates to the relative importance of our various technologies incorporated into a given product. We cannot be certain how a court would interpret any ambiguities regarding the scope of these funding agreements or other claims that may be raised by one or more investors pursuant to these funding agreements. Any dispute regarding these agreements could be costly and divert management’s attention from our operations, and if the investors are deemed to have rights to payments in excess of those we believe are applicable, our business, results of operations, cash flows and prospects would be materially and adversely affected. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—F. Tabular Disclosure of Contractual Obligations” and “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Early Stage Technology Development Agreements.”

There are a limited number of prospective collaborators in the markets in which we operate.

Our Research and Development (“R&D”) and commercialization activities are costly, time-intensive and require significant infrastructure and resources. Therefore, our business strategy involves entering into collaboration and joint venture arrangements with global agricultural firms to leverage their resources, know-how and channels of distribution and into collaborations with research institutions and governmental agencies to facilitate our low-cost approach to R&D. The crop productivity market is highly consolidated and dominated by a relatively small number of large companies. Additionally, there are a limited number of researchers and research institutions focused on the technologies that we seek to develop and competition for entry into collaboration arrangements with them can be challenging. Due to the small number of companies in our markets and the small number of potential collaborators, there are limited opportunities for us to pursue additional joint ventures and collaborations with new partners and collaborators. We may cease to be attractive to prospective collaborators if our technology platform or track record is not perceived to be sufficiently developed or successful or if, in the case of prospective joint venture partners, such prospective partners view us as a competitor and choose not to collaborate with us. In addition, if we fail to develop or maintain our relationships with any of our existing collaborators, we could lose our opportunity to work with that collaborator and suffer a reputational risk that could impact our relationships with other collaborators in what is a relatively small industry community. If we are unable to enter into new joint venture agreements or collaborations, we may face higher development costs than anticipated, greater difficulties in achieving commercialization, challenges in expanding our portfolio of technologies and distribution networks and commercial products, or other adverse impacts, which could have a material adverse effect on our business prospects.

The licenses that our Parent grants to certain of the joint ventures in which we participate and to certain third parties are exclusive with respect to certain territories and/or crops, limiting our ability to use the licensed technology and future technologies either independently or with another partner.

The license our Parent has agreed to grant to Verdeca would be exclusive with respect to HB4 soybean technology worldwide and, although we would be permitted to use this technology, we would be prohibited from sub-licensing it to third parties. The license our Parent granted to Trigall Genetics is exclusive with respect to HB4 wheat technology in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Pursuant to the terms of the licenses in each of the above-mentioned joint ventures, we reserve the rights to use such technologies for research and non-commercial purposes. We are prohibited from independently using the technology our Parent licensed to Trigall Genetics and Verdeca with respect to wheat and soybean, respectively, within their exclusive field and territories. As a result, we are, to a certain extent, dependent on the efforts of our joint ventures and licensees that hold or will hold exclusive licenses to commercialize our technologies in those fields and territories. These licenses are valid so long as the respective joint venture operates and can be recuperated by us upon joint venture dissolution. The restrictions imposed by these licenses limit our flexibility to commercialize our technology and expand our business, both of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and prospects.

Our product development cycle is lengthy and uncertain, and we may never generate revenues or earn royalties on the sale of our products currently in development.

R&D in the crop productivity industry is expensive, complex, prolonged, and uncertain. We may spend many years and dedicate significant financial and other resources developing products that may never generate revenues or come to market. Our process of developing and commercializing technologies involves several phases and can take several years from discovery to commercialization of a product. On average, it takes between five and 13 years to develop a product for our crop productivity products. Some products will never reach the final stages of development.

Development of new or improved agricultural products involves risks of failure inherent in the development of products based on innovative and complex technologies. These risks include the possibility that:

We intend to continue to invest in R&D including additional and expanded field testing to validate potential products in real world conditions. Because of the long product development cycle and the complexities and uncertainties associated with biotech technologies, there can be no assurance that we will ever generate significant revenues from the technologies or products that we are currently developing without significant delay, without the incurrence of unanticipated costs or at all.

We or our collaborators may fail to perform our respective contractual obligations and we may have disputes with our collaborators.

Pursuant to our joint venture agreements, other agreements with our joint venture partners and collaboration arrangements, we are required to provide R&D services over a particular period of time and meet other contractual obligations. If we fail to perform our obligations under these agreements, our collaborators’ obligations to us may be reduced and, in other cases, our collaborators may seek to dissolve the corresponding joint venture or terminate their agreements with us and, as a result, our anticipated revenues may decrease. In addition, the failure of any of our collaborators to perform their contractual obligations, due to financial hardship, disagreement under the relevant agreement or for any other reason, may hinder our research collaboration, development and commercialization activities, increase our costs and materially and adversely affect our results of operations. Because some of our intellectual property has been licensed to various joint ventures for use in several different fields, the interests of each of our partners in these joint ventures may not always be aligned. As a result, it is possible that potential disputes may arise between us and our partners.

Our ability to generate value from our joint ventures and research collaborations will depend on, among other things, our ability to work cooperatively with our collaborators for the discovery, development and commercialization of our technology and products and we may be unable to do so. We cannot be sure that the division of labor will be successful in aiding the commercialization of our products. Furthermore, the agreements governing our partnership and collaborations are complex and cover a range of future activities. The occurrence of any negative event with respect to the above matters or a dispute between us and our partners or collaborators could delay our development and commercialization efforts, and lead to the dissolution of the partnership or collaboration. If disagreements with a collaborator arise, any such dispute could be costly, time-consuming to resolve and distracting to our management. Such a dispute may also negatively affect our relationship with one or more of our other collaborators and may hinder our ability to enter into future collaboration agreements. Any of these occurrences could negatively impact our business and results of operations.

Our joint venture agreements or any partnerships that we may enter into in the future may not be successful, which could adversely affect our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates.

We may seek partnerships or joint venture arrangements with third parties for the development or commercialization of our product candidates depending on the merits of retaining commercialization rights for ourselves as compared to entering into partnerships or joint venture arrangements. We will face, to the extent that we decide to enter into partnerships or joint venture agreements, significant competition in seeking appropriate partners. Moreover, partnerships or joint venture arrangements are complex and time-consuming to negotiate document implement and maintain. We may not be successful in our efforts to establish and implement partnerships, joint ventures, or other alternative arrangements should we so chose to enter into such arrangements and any future partnerships or joint ventures that we enter into may not be successful. Furthermore, the terms of any partnerships, joint ventures, or other arrangements that we may establish may not be favorable to us.

The success of our R&D partnerships or joint venture arrangements will depend heavily on the efforts and activities of our partners. Our joint venture arrangements may present financial, managerial, and operational challenges, including potential disputes, liabilities, or contingencies and may involve risks not otherwise present when operating independently including:

The risks described above or the failure to continue any joint venture or joint development arrangement or to resolve disagreements with our current or future joint venture partners could materially and adversely affect our ability to transact the business that is the subject of such joint venture, which would in turn negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We may experience difficulties in collecting payments or royalties to which we believe we are entitled.

We sell certain of our products to distributors through Rizobacter and Bioceres Semillas, our proprietary commercial channels for crop productivity technologies. We also often license the use of certain technology to collaborators and licensees who use or will use the intellectual property to develop and commercialize seeds with improved seed traits. Additionally, we may be entitled under applicable intellectual property laws in the countries in which we operate to the payment of royalties from end users who subsequently multiply and use our seed technology. In each case, we may not actually receive the payments or royalties to which we are entitled, due to failure or refusal of the responsible parties to pay the amounts due. Failure to receive amounts owed to us could have an adverse impact on our business.

In the case of royalty payments from licensees, we rely on the good faith of the licensees to report to us the sales they earn from these products and to accurately calculate the royalties, to which we are entitled, processes that may involve complicated and difficult calculations. Under existing agreements, we have the right to inspect the inventory and accounts of multipliers of our seeds and licensees of our technologies; however, we must also rely on the good faith of end users to accurately report to us the multiplication of our seeds and remit royalty payments due in respect of the same, which may be respected to varying degrees in different jurisdictions given the absence of contractual privity and prevailing market practice.

Additionally, a licensee, collaborator or third party may use our intellectual property without our permission, dispute our ownership of certain intellectual property rights or argue that our intellectual property does not cover the joint venture’s marketed product.

We seek to address these concerns in our contractual agreements; however, we may not have contractual arrangements with the party in question and/or such provisions may not be effective. If these provisions prove to be ineffective, we may not be able to achieve our objectives of generating significant revenues from crop productivity products sales and royalties from our seed technologies. Furthermore, regardless of any resort to legal action, a dispute with an end-customer, a licensee or collaborator over intellectual property rights may damage our relationship with that licensee or collaborator and may also harm our reputation in the industry.

We depend on our key personnel and research collaborators and we may be adversely affected if we are unable to attract and retain qualified scientific and business personnel.

Our business is dependent on our ability to recruit and maintain highly skilled and educated individuals through direct employment or collaboration arrangements, with expertise in a range of disciplines, including biology, chemistry, plant genetics, agronomics, mathematics programming and other subjects relevant to our business. Our ability to recruit such a work force depends in part on our ability to maintain our market leadership in agricultural biotech industry in Argentina and Latin America. Maintaining our ability to attract highly-skilled workers and leading scientific institutions depends in part on our ability to maintain a strong technology platform and state-of-the-art facilities, as well as our ability to consistently and successfully commercialize our technology. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain leading scientific capabilities or continue to successfully maintain advanced technology in the market.

Our success is also dependent to a significant degree upon the technical skills and continued service of certain members of our management team, in particular those of our CEO, Dr. Federico Trucco. Dr. Trucco has occupied several positions at Bioceres since 2005 and has vast experience and knowledge of our business, strategy and technologies. Furthermore, he has developed and maintained strong relationships with our original shareholders. The cessation of Dr. Trucco’s employment for any reason could have a material and negative impact on us. In addition, the number of qualified and highly educated personnel in Argentina, where most of our operations are located, is limited and competition for the services of such persons may be intense. Our inability to secure, retain or find replacements for key management and technical personnel could adversely affect our business and could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition and growth prospects.

We do not enter into non-compete agreements with our employees, and therefore we may be unable to prevent our competitors from benefiting from the expertise of our former employees.

We do not enter into non-compete agreements with our employees, which prevents us from limiting our key employees from joining our competitors or competing directly against us. As a result, we may be unable to prevent our competitors from benefiting from the expertise of such employees. Direct competition by a former employee could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and ability to capitalize on our proprietary information.

We may be adversely affected by global economic conditions.

Our ability to continue to develop and grow our business, build proprietary distribution channels and generate revenues from product sales and royalty payments may be adversely affected by global economic conditions in the future, including instability in credit markets, declining consumer and business confidence, fluctuating commodity prices and interest rates, volatile exchange rates and other challenges that could affect the global economy such as the changing financial regulatory environment. For example, our customers and licensees may experience deterioration of their businesses, cash flow shortages or difficulties obtaining financing, which could adversely affect the demand for our technologies, products and services. In addition, our earnings may be adversely affected by fluctuations in the price of certain commodities, such as grains, milk, meat, biofuels and biomaterials. If commodity prices are negatively impacted, the value of our products could be directly and negatively impacted. Additionally, growers’ incomes have historically been negatively affected by commodity prices. As a result, fluctuations in commodity prices could have an impact on growers’ purchasing decisions and negatively affect their ability and decisions to purchase our seeds or products that incorporate our proprietary technology. We cannot anticipate all of the ways in which the current economic climate and financial market conditions could adversely impact our business.

We may acquire businesses or products, or form strategic alliances, in the future, and we may not realize the benefits of such acquisitions.

We plan to selectively partner, in-license or acquired key enabling technologies and businesses across our value chain that we believe will keep us on the cutting edge of our industry. We may not be able to identify appropriate targets or make acquisitions under satisfactory conditions, in particular, satisfactory price conditions. In addition, we may be unable to obtain the financing for these acquisitions under other purposes in the context of existing operations. If we acquire businesses with promising markets or technologies, we may not be able to realize the benefit of acquiring such businesses if we are unable to successfully integrate them with our existing operations and company culture. We may encounter numerous difficulties in developing manufacturing and marketing any new products resulting from a strategic alliance or acquisition that delay or prevent us from realizing their expected benefits or enhancing our business. We cannot assure you that, following any such acquisition, we will achieve the expected synergies to justify the transaction, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions, earnings and prospects.

The effects of COVID-19 and certain measures adopted by the Argentine government to mitigate the effects of the pandemic are negatively affecting us, and we cannot accurately predict its ultimate impact on our results and operations.

In December 2019, a new disease was discovered from the coronavirus strain (SARS-COV-2) in the city of Wuhan in China, which causes a severe acute respiratory syndrome, and which was globally given the name COVID-19. Since then, COVID-19 has spread throughout the world, including Argentina. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the existence of a global pandemic.

In response to the effects of the pandemic, several countries have taken extraordinary measures to contain the spread of the virus, including imposing restrictions on travel and closing borders, closing businesses deemed non-essential, instructing residents to practice isolation and/or social distancing, mandatory quarantines, and similar actions. The ongoing pandemic and these extraordinary government measures are affecting global economic activity.

The Argentine government has taken multiple measures in response to the spread of COVID-19 in Argentina, including a mandatory nationwide preventative social isolation that began on March 19, 2020 and has been extended several times. The Argentine government also required the mandatory closure of non-essential businesses. The social isolation was extended until October 25, 2020, but in some jurisdictions the local governments have begun to relax the restrictions and expand the number of authorized activities.

In order to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 and of the mandatory closure of non-essential businesses, the Argentine government has adopted social, monetary, and fiscal aid measures, including financial aid for the payment of salaries to workers affected by the mandatory isolation; social security contribution exemptions for sectors critically affected by COVID-19; setting maximum prices for essential products; and payment of a stimulus income to vulnerable families from March to August 2020. Similarly, the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (the “Argentine Central Bank”) took a series of measures in order to mitigate the impact on the economy, including incentives for the extension of working capital credit lines by financial institutions to small and medium enterprises. These measures have not prevented an economic recession in Argentina, which could be extended or deepened, particularly if current conditions extend over time and if Argentina’s main trading partners are simultaneously facing an economic recession. Additionally, to the extent that the Argentine government had limited resources to support Argentina’s economy since the pandemic has hit Argentina at a time when it was already struggling to emerge from a recession and foreign exchange crisis, all such financial aid extended by the Argentine government has been financed through expansion of the monetary base, which has resulted in additional inflation and devaluation of the Argentine peso.

In addition to the stay-at-home orders and closure of business and premises considerer non-essential, some other measures adopted by the Argentine government could negatively affect the demand for our products, including the prohibition on layoffs without cause and employee suspensions, and the price fixing, among others.

Our operations, which involve agricultural production and commercialization activities, have been exempted from the order. Nonetheless, we cannot predict whether our operations will continue to be exempted.

While it is not possible to predict the future impact of COVID-19 and the effect the measures adopted by the Argentine government on the Argentine economy, COVID-19 has already significantly affected Argentine and global economic conditions and is likely to continue to do so for the remainder of 2020 and beyond. Both COVID-19 and the Argentine government’s response may affect our financial position and results of operations.

We are constantly monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on us. The ultimate impact of COVID-19 on our business, results of operations, and financial position remains highly uncertain and will depend on future events beyond our control, including the intensity and duration of COVID-19, the possibility that a vaccine will be available in the medium term, and government measures taken to contain the virus or mitigate the economic impact.

Our crop productivity business is highly seasonal and affected by factors beyond our control, which may cause our sales and operating results to fluctuate significantly.

The sale of our products is dependent upon planting and growing seasons, which vary from year to year, and are expected to result in both highly seasonal patterns and substantial fluctuations in quarterly sales and profitability. Weather conditions and natural disasters, such as heavy rains, hail, floods, freezing conditions, windstorms, drought or fire, also affect decisions by our distributors, direct customers and end users about the types and amounts of products to use and the timing of harvesting and planting. According to the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange, the average national yields of soybean and corn as of April 18, 2018 had registered decreases as a result of the drought. From December 2017 to March 2018, Argentina experienced a significant drought, which impacted crop yields. During 2020, Argentina is suffering one of the worst droughts of the last century. As a result, fires have affected more than 120.000 hectares in 11 provinces which include some of the most productive central and northern regions of Argentina.

As we increase our sales in our current markets and expand into new markets in different geographies, it is possible that we may experience different seasonality patterns in our business. Disruptions may lead to delays in harvesting or planting by growers which can result in pushing orders to a future quarter, which could negatively affect results for the quarter in question and cause fluctuations in our operating results. Seasonal variations may be especially pronounced because our product lines are mainly sold in the Southern Hemisphere. Our seeds, biologicals and other crop input products sales tend to be comparatively low during the third and fourth quarters of our fiscal year, as soybean related sales peak in the second quarter. However, planting and growing seasons, climatic conditions and other variables on which sales of our products are dependent vary from year to year and quarter to quarter. As a result, we may experience substantial fluctuations in quarterly seed sales.

The overall level of seasonality in our business is difficult to evaluate as a result of our relatively early stage of development, our limited number of commercialized products, our expansion into new geographical territories, the introduction of new products and the timing of introductions of new products. It is possible that our business may be more seasonal or experience seasonality in different periods than anticipated. Other factors may also contribute to the unpredictability of our operating results, including the size and timing of significant distributor transactions, the delay or deferral of use of our commercial technology or products and the fiscal or quarterly budget cycles of our direct customers, distributors, licensees and end users. Customers may purchase large quantities of our products in a particular quarter to store and use over long periods of time or time their purchases to manage their inventories, which may cause significant fluctuations in our operating results for a particular quarter or year.

Our results of operations from our crop productivity products may vary significantly from period to period due to circumstances beyond our control.

The crop productivity market is affected by various factors that make their operations relatively unpredictable from period to period. The development of our products may be adversely affected by circumstances beyond our control. For our crop productivity products, factors beyond our control include weather and climatic variations, such as droughts or heat stress, or other factors we are unable to identify. For example, if there were a prolonged or permanent disruption to the electricity, climate control or water supply operating systems in our greenhouses or laboratories, the plants on which we are testing our licensed seed traits and the samples we store in freezers, both of which are essential to our development activities, would be severely damaged or destroyed, adversely affecting our development activities and thereby our business and results of operations. We have experienced crop failures in the past for various reasons, which have resulted in re-start field trials and delays in achieving expected results.

The crop productivity market is also vulnerable to crop disease and to pests, which may vary in severity and effect, depending on the stage of production at the time of infection or infestation, the type of treatment applied, climatic conditions and the risks associated with ongoing global climate change. The costs to control disease and other infestations vary depending on the severity of the damage and the extent of the plantings affected. Moreover, there can be no assurance that available technologies to control such infestations will continue to be effective. These infestations can also increase costs, decrease revenues and lead to additional charges to earnings, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations.

Any development or product failure we may experience or any inability to economically source necessary materials could result in increased cost of development of our crop productivity products, which may negatively impact our business and results of operations.

Certain estimates of market opportunity included in this report are based on assumptions that are inherently uncertain and subject to risks and uncertainties that could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition.

The information regarding market opportunity for EcoSoy and EcoWheat has been prepared by management and our assumptions underlying our statements about these market opportunities are inherently uncertain and are subject to significant business, economic, regulatory and competitive risks and other uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the market opportunity. No independent third party has compiled, examined, or performed any procedures with respect to our potential market opportunities related to EcoSoy and/or EcoWheat, nor has any third party expressed any opinion or any other form of assurance on the information or its achievability by us, and no independent third party has assumed responsibility for, or claimed any association with, the information we have included herein regarding such potential market opportunities. The information regarding market opportunities for EcoSoy and EcoWheat is not fact and should not be relied upon as being indicative of future results. For example, we extrapolated from publicly available data for the past ten years to estimate soy and wheat production area in order to in turn estimate the size of EcoSoy and EcoWheat-related market opportunities. Changes in economic, climate, regulatory and other factors could significantly reduce the target area and our market opportunity. We also made assumptions regarding the number of bags of soybeans and wheat seeds needed to plant one hectare as well as other information, which in each case may prove to be materially incorrect. Furthermore, we may not be able to take advantage of these market opportunities even if they are available. Our failure to take advantage of market opportunities or to correctly size our market opportunity could have a material adverse effect on our ability to take advantage of our investments in EcoSoy and EcoWheat, and therefore on our business, operating results and financial condition.

Consumer and government resistance to GM crops may negatively affect our public image and reduce sales of seeds or other products containing our licensed seed traits.

We are active in the field of biotech development of seeds, including GM seeds and the successful commercialization of our products depends, in part, on public acceptance of genetically engineered agricultural products. Some consumers may reject foods made from GM seeds and production of certain GM crops is prohibited in certain countries due to food safety and environmental concerns. Any increase in negative perceptions of GM crops, or more restrictive government regulations in response thereto, could have a negative effect on our business and may delay or impair the development and commercialization of our products.

The commercial success of our products may be adversely affected by claims that biotechnology plant products are unsafe for consumption or use, pose risks of damage to the environment, or create legal, social and ethical dilemmas.

The high public profile of biotechnology in food production and food products and public attitudes about the safety and environmental hazards of, and ethical concerns over, genetic research and biotechnology plant products could negatively affect our public image and results of operations.

The prohibition of the production of certain GM crops in select countries and the current resistance from consumer groups to GM crops not only limits our access to such markets but also has the potential of spreading to and influencing the acceptance of products developed through biotechnology in other regions of the world and may also influence regulators in other countries to limit or ban production of GM crops, which could limit the commercial opportunities to exploit biotechnology. For example, in the United States, no product may be labelled as “organic” if it contains any genetically modified organisms (“GMO”). Additionally, some states in the United States are considering, and one state has passed a law relating to, mandatory labelling of GMO foods, which may carry a negative connotation for consumers and which could make it difficult and expensive for companies to use ingredients from GM crops and distribute products in compliance with the labelling requirements, each of which could in turn have an adverse impact on the sale of our licensed GM seeds. In Argentina, a class action suit has been initiated against the national government and certain biotechnology companies, including the Parent, requesting, among other changes, the mandatory labelling of GM foods and environmental protection of land use. As of the date of this report, the plaintiffs’ request for an injunction against GMO approvals was rejected by the Federal Court of Appeals and an extraordinary appeal at the Argentine Supreme Court was filed, the practicable chances of success of which are low.

GM crops are grown principally in the United States, Brazil and Argentina, where there are fewer restrictions on the production of GM crops. If these or other countries where GM crops are grown or where we engage in business activities enact laws or regulations that ban the production of such crops or make regulations more stringent, we could experience a longer product development cycle for our products and may be forced to abandon projects related to certain crops or geographies, both of which would negatively affect our business and results of operations. Public attitudes towards ownership of genetic material and potential changes to laws regulating such ownership could weaken our intellectual property rights with respect to our genetic material and discourage R&D partners from supporting, developing or commercializing our products and technologies. Furthermore, any future labeling requirements could heighten these concerns and make consumers less likely to purchase food products containing gene-edited ingredients.

Competition in crop productivity products is intense and requires continuous technological development.

We currently face significant direct and indirect competition in the markets in which we operate. The markets for crop productivity products are intensely competitive and rapidly changing. Many companies engage in the development of crop productivity products, and speed in commercializing a new product can be a significant competitive advantage.

As an example, some of our competitors engage in research associated with discovery and therefore have R&D budgets allocated for crop productivity products that are more significant than our own R&D budget and that cover more activities than those in which we engage. In addition, former collaborators, by virtue of having had access to our proprietary technology, may utilize this insight for their own development efforts.

In most segments of the crop productivity markets, the number of products available to end-customers is steadily increasing as new products are introduced. We may be unable to compete successfully against our current and future competitors, which may result in price reductions, reduced margins and the inability to achieve market acceptance for products containing our licensed seed traits and technology. In addition, many of our competitors have substantially greater financial, marketing, sales, distribution and technical resources than us and some of our competitors have more experience in R&D, regulatory matters, manufacturing and marketing. We anticipate increased competition in the future as new companies enter the market and new technologies become available. Programs to improve genetics and crop protection chemicals are generally concentrated within a relatively small number of large companies, while non-genetic approaches are underway with broader set of companies. Mergers and acquisitions in the plant science, specialty food ingredient and agricultural biotechnology seed and chemical industries may result in even more resources being concentrated among a smaller number of our competitors.

Our Parent’s technology may be rendered obsolete or uneconomical by technological advances or entirely different approaches developed by one or more of our competitors, which will prevent or limit our ability to generate revenues from the commercialization of our licensed seed traits and technology. At the same time, the expiration of patents covering existing products reduces the barriers to entry for competitors. Our ability to compete effectively and to achieve commercial success depends, in part, on our ability to control manufacturing and marketing costs; effectively price and market our products, successfully develop an effective marketing program and an efficient supply chain, develop new products with properties attractive to food manufacturers or growers and commercialize our products quickly without incurring major regulatory costs. We may not be successful in achieving these factors and any such failure may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We register and market soybean varieties with glyphosate tolerance technology, meaning those that have been genetically modified to tolerate herbicides based on glyphosate.

Changes in laws and regulations to which we are subject, or to which we may become subject in the future, may materially increase our costs of operation, decrease our operating revenues and disrupt our business.

Laws and regulatory standards and procedures that impact our business are continuously changing. Responding to these changes and meeting existing and new requirements may be costly and burdensome. Changes in laws and regulations may occur that could:

Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. We believe we currently are in compliance with regulations related to growing GM crops in Argentina and other countries; however, if these regulations change, our validation trials and compliance efforts may become costly and burdensome.

Any changes in regulation in countries where GM crops are grown or exported into could result in our collaborators, other third parties or us being unable or unwilling to develop, commercialize or sell products that incorporate our licensed seed traits or technology. In addition, we rely on various forms of intellectual property protection. Legislation and jurisprudence on intellectual property in the key markets where we seek protection, such as the United States, Brazil and Argentina, is evolving and changes in laws could affect our ability to obtain or maintain intellectual property protection for our products. Any changes to these existing laws and regulations may materially increase our costs, decrease our revenues and disrupt our business.

Our indebtedness could adversely affect our financial condition.

As of June 30, 2020, our total indebtedness was US$92.0 million, of which US$63.7 matures in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021. We may incur additional indebtedness in the future. Our subsidiary Rizobacter has a note program in place under which it may issue corporate bonds in an aggregate principal amount of up to US$40 million. We are in the process of seeking approval for an increase of the program amount. Our indebtedness could have important adverse consequences, including:

The occurrence of any of the above may negatively impact our business and results of operations. As of June 30, 2020, due to the macroeconomic conditions in Argentina, Rizobacter failed to comply with ratios under the Syndicated Loan Facility and the Private Corporate Bonds, but on June 30, 2020 we obtained a waiver for the fiscal year ended on such date from the majority lenders. If any of our indebtedness gets accelerated as a result of our failure to meet certain covenants, the risks described above could intensify. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—B. Liquidity and Capital Resources —Indebtedness”.

In addition, our Argentine subsidiaries are temporarily subject to certain restrictions on payments of foreign indebtedness through the Argentine Exchange Currency Market (Mercado Único y Libre de Cambio) (“MULC”). Therefore, our Argentine subsidiaries may be impeded from making payments under foreign indebtedness or the costs of performing such payments could be substantially higher, all of which could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations. See “Argentina—Argentine exchange controls and restrictions have been reinstated in Argentina limiting access to MULC to make payments and distributions from our Argentine subsidiaries and receive the proceeds of any sale of our assets in Argentina.”

Price increases and shortages of raw materials could adversely affect our results of operations.

Our results of operations may be affected by the availability and pricing of raw materials, principally materials needed to design our technologies, such as raw glycerin. Factors such as changes in the global or regional levels of supply and demand, weather conditions, seasonal fluctuations, shortages or interruptions, changes in global climates and government regulations could substantially impact the price of raw materials. To the extent we are unable to pass on increases in raw materials and energy prices to our customers, a substantial increase in raw material prices or a continued interruption in supply could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The overall agricultural industry is susceptible to commodity price changes and we, along with our food manufacturing customers and grower customers, are exposed to market risks from changes in commodity prices.

Changes in the prices of certain commodity products could result in higher overall cost along the agricultural supply chain, which may negatively affect our ability to commercialize our products. We will be susceptible to changes in costs in the agricultural industry as a result of factors beyond our control, such as general economic conditions, seasonal fluctuations, weather conditions, demand, food safety concerns, product recalls and government regulations. As a result, we may not be able to anticipate or react to changing costs by adjusting our practices, which could cause our operating results to deteriorate.

We may be required to pay substantial damages as a result of product liability claims for which we do not have insurance.

Product liability claims are a commercial risk for our business, particularly as we are involved in the sale of commercial technology and the supply of biotechnological products, some of which may be shown in the future to be harmful to humans and the environment. We may be held liable if any product we develop, unsuitable during marketing, sale or consumption. We do not currently have insurance coverage for such claims. Courts have levied substantial damages in the United States and elsewhere against a number of companies in the agriculture industry in past years based upon claims for injuries allegedly caused by the use of their products.

In addition, we may face product liability and similar claims involving cross-pollination of crops, which recently has affected other companies in our industry operating in the United States, and cross-contamination of GMO and non-GMO ingredients. In Argentina, there are no precedents for product liability cases in the agricultural industry related to transgenic or biotechnology products; however, there has been at least one product liability case related to the use of pesticides.

There is a possibility that a products liability case could be filed against us in Argentina, in which case damages may be substantial albeit potentially smaller than those typically awarded in the United States. Product liability claims against us, our joint ventures or third-party licensees selling products that contain our licensed seed traits or technology or allegations of product liability relating to seeds or other products containing seed traits or technology developed by us could damage our reputation, harm our relationships with our collaborators and other business counterparties and materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

Our operations are subject to various health and environmental risks associated with our use, handling and disposal of potentially toxic materials.

We are subject to numerous federal, state, local and foreign environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including those governing laboratory procedures, the handling, use, storage, treatment, manufacture and disposal of hazardous materials and wastes, discharge of pollutants into the environment and human health and safety matters. As part of our technology sourcing and product development activities, we develop GMOs by inserting new genes into the genomes of certain plants and bacteria. Though we introduce these genes in order to improve plant traits, we cannot always predict the effect that these genes may have on the organism. In some cases, the genes may render the organism poisonous or toxic, or they may cause the organism to develop other dangerous characteristics that could harm the organism’s surrounding environment. Furthermore, there is a risk that, when testing GMOs, the seeds or strains of these organisms may escape the laboratory, greenhouse, industrial facility or field in which they are being tested and contaminate nearby areas. Poisonous or toxic organisms may therefore be inadvertently introduced into the environment or possibly enter the food production system, harming the people and animals who come in contact with them. Our crop protection products, which include Rizoderma, adjutants, therapies, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides, among others, bear similar risks in the development stage.

We cannot eliminate the risk of contamination or discharge and any resultant injury from these materials. If these risks were to materialize, we could be subject to fines, liability, reputational harm or otherwise adverse effects on our business. We may be sued for any injury or contamination that results from our use or the use by third parties of these materials, or may otherwise be required to remedy the contamination, and our liability may exceed any insurance coverage and our total assets. Furthermore, compliance with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations may be expensive and may impair our R&D efforts. If we fail to comply with these requirements, we could incur substantial costs and liabilities, including civil or criminal fines and penalties, clean-up costs or capital expenditures for control equipment or operational changes necessary to achieve and maintain compliance In addition, we cannot predict the impact on our business of new or amended environmental, health and safety laws or regulations or any changes in the way existing and future laws and regulations are interpreted and enforced. These current or future laws and regulations may impair our research, development or production efforts.

The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources and distract our management, which could make it difficult to manage our business.

We are required to comply with various regulatory and reporting requirements, including those required by the SEC. Complying with these reporting and regulatory requirements will be time consuming, resulting in increased costs to us or other adverse consequences.

As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. These requirements may place a strain on our systems and resources. The Exchange Act requires that we file annual and current reports with respect to our business and financial condition. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting. To maintain and improve the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, we will need to commit significant resources, hire additional staff and provide additional management oversight. We expect to implement additional procedures and processes for the purpose of addressing the applicable standards and requirements for public companies. These activities may divert management’s attention from other business concerns, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

As an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act, we may take advantage of certain temporary exemptions from various reporting requirements including, but not limited to, an exemption from compliance with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and regulations of the SEC thereunder. These exemptions will cease to apply by no later than the last day of our fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the completion of Union’s initial public offering (the “IPO”) (or under certain other circumstances) and we expect to incur additional expenses and devote increased management effort toward ensuring compliance with the additional reporting requirements that will apply when we cease to be an “emerging growth company.” We cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we may incur as a result of becoming a public company or the timing of such costs

We may require additional financing in the future and may not be able to obtain such financing on favorable terms, if at all, which could force us to delay, reduce or terminate some of our activities.

The process of developing and commercializing products is expensive, lengthy and risky and we expect to continue investing in our R&D services to identify new potential products for development. We may require additional capital to fund our technology sourcing and product development projects and to provide working capital to fund other aspects of our business. Although we currently believe that our cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities will provide adequate resources to fund our operations, including technology sourcing and product development expenses, planned capital expenditures and working capital requirements for the foreseeable future, we may nevertheless need additional financing in the future, due to changes in our business strategy or the occurrence of unanticipated events.

We may seek to issue additional equity securities, which could result in dilution to our existing shareholders, or raise additional debt financing, which could subject us to restrictive covenants that limit our operating flexibility and require us to comply with certain financial ratios. Alternatively, we may not be able to raise sufficient additional funds on terms that are favorable to us, if at all. If we fail to raise the funds we require, our ability to fund our operations, take advantage of strategic opportunities, develop and commercialize products or technologies, or otherwise respond to competitive pressures could be significantly limited. In such an event, we may be forced to delay or terminate our development initiatives or the commercialization of our technology and products, curtail operations or grant licenses to our technology on terms that are not favorable to us. If adequate funds are not available, we may not be able to successfully execute our business strategy or continue our business.

Development and commercialization of our products may incur scrutiny under the Convention on Biological Diversity Treaty.

The Convention is an international treaty that was adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. The treaty provides that if a company uses genetic resources, such as an indigenous plant, from a participating country to develop a product, then such company must obtain the prior informed consent of the participating country and owes fair and equitable compensation to the participating country. Although the United States is not a participating country, most countries where we currently obtain or may obtain genetic resources in the future, including Argentina, have ratified the treaty and are currently participants in the Convention. We may fall under scrutiny of the Convention with respect to the development or commercialization of any of our products derived from genetic resources originating from any of the countries that are participants in the Convention. There can be no assurance that the government of a participating country will not assert that it is entitled to fair and equitable compensation from us. Such compensation, if demanded, may make commercialization of our products impracticable.

Our business strategy may change, and the successful implementation of our business plan is uncertain.

We currently generate a significant portion of our revenue from the sale of crop protection products. We expect that, following regulatory approval and successful commercialization of our licensed technologies, including HB4, which was recently approved in Argentina, an increasing portion of our revenues will be generated by sales of seed and integrated products through our proprietary commercial channels and third-party licensees, with incremental income expected to be generated by the joint ventures in which we participate. We face numerous challenges to completing the various steps necessary for the commercialization of our products and there can be no guarantee that we will be able to successfully commercialize our licensed technologies. As a result of our continuous analyses of our crop productivity solutions, we may decide to make substantial changes in our business plan and operations. Such modifications may also result from management’s belief that it has identified more economical or efficient means of achieving our objectives. Furthermore, such changes could relate to minor aspects of the business plan, such as the methods in which we sell our crop productivity solutions, or to key aspects of the plan, such as the type of technologies that we seek to commercialize. Changes to our business plan could result in material delays to the commercialization of our products.

Our failure to accurately forecast and manage inventory could result in an unexpected shortfall or surplus of products which could harm our business.

We are required to produce inventories of certain of our products (mainly seeds and biologicals) and we monitor our inventory levels based on our own projections of future demand. Because of the significant time it takes to produce commercial quantities of seeds, production decisions must be made well in advance of sales. An inaccurate forecast of demand for any seed variety can result in the unavailability of seeds in high demand. Such unavailability may depress sales volumes and adversely affect customer relationships. Conversely, an inaccurate forecast could also result in an over-supply of seeds which may increase costs, negatively impact cash flow, reduce the quality of inventory and ultimately create write-offs of inventory, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Disruption to our IT and operating system could adversely affect our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Disruption or failure of our IT system due to technical reasons, natural disaster or other unanticipated catastrophic events, including power interruptions, storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, terrorist attacks and wars could significantly impair our ability to deliver data related to our projects to our collaborators on schedule and materially and adversely affect our relationships with our collaborators, our business and our results of operations. We expect to continue to develop our computational technologies and may need to update our IT system and storage capabilities. If our existing or future IT system does not function properly, or if the IT system proves incompatible with our new technologies, we could experience interruptions in data transmissions and slow response times, preventing us from completing routine research and business activities. Furthermore, we can provide no assurance that our current IT system is fully protected against third-party intrusions, viruses, hacker attacks, information or data theft or other similar threats.

Our business and operations would suffer in the event of computer system failures, cyber-attacks or a deficiency in our cyber-security.

Despite the continuous implementation of security measures, our internal computer systems, and those of third parties on which we rely, are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, malware, natural disasters, terrorism war telecommunication and electrical failures, cyber-attacks or cyber-intrusions over the Internet, attachments to emails, persons inside our organization, or persons with access to systems inside our organization. The risk of a security breach or disruption, particularly through cyber-attacks or cyber-intrusion, including by computer hackers, foreign governments, and cyber terrorists, has generally increased as the number intensity and sophistication of attempted attacks and intrusions from around the world have increased. If such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a material disruption of our product development programs. For example, the loss of field trial data from completed or ongoing or planned field trials could result in delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. To the extent that any disruption or security breach was to result in a loss of or damage to our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur material legal claims and liability, damage to our reputation, and the further development of our product candidates could be delayed.

Labor unions can request, and have requested, the unionization of some of our employees.

In December 2016 and March 2017, the Argentine Trade Union of Truck Drivers (Sindicato de Choferes de Camiones) (“SCC”) and the Argentine Union of Rural Workers and Stevedores (Unión Argentina de Trabajadores Rurales y Estibadores) (“UATRE”), respectively requested the unionization of some employees of Rizobacter. With respect to the former, the SCC requested to unionize employees involved in logistics and operation of forklifts. UATRE requested to unionize workers engaged in the handling and storage of grain related to our seed treatment process undertaken seasonally. After negotiations, both SCC and UATRE came to an agreement with Rizobacter wherein Rizobacter agreed to hire companies to carry out the operations covered by each union. Each company agreed to indemnify Rizobacter in relation to any subsequent claims by the workers registered with the SCC or the UATRE, as the case may be, without direct cause to Rizobacter.

If new union disputes arise, they may be time consuming and distracting to management. The occurrence of a union dispute could have a material and adverse effect on our costs and business, results of operations and financial condition.

We rely on third parties to grow our seeds. If these parties do not grow our seeds at a satisfactory quality, in a timely manner, in sufficient quantities or at an acceptable cost, our commercialization efforts could be delayed or otherwise negatively impacted.

We rely on affiliated and unaffiliated growers to grow the majority of our proprietary seed and to sell it to us at negotiated prices each year. Our current dependence upon others for the production of our seeds may adversely affect our ability to commercialize any products on a timely and competitive basis. If our growers decline to a significant degree to plant the acreage on which we rely, and if we cannot find other growers to plant the lost acreage, our inventory of seed could be insufficient to satisfy the needs of our customers. Furthermore, growers may refuse to grow our seeds for any reason, including deterioration in our business relationship or the existence of more favorable terms with other companies. For example, if a particular crop is paying a materially higher price than has been paid in the past, growers may decide to not grow our seeds in favor of receiving a higher return from an alternative crop planted on the same acreage. If third-party growers decline to grow our seeds or if they are unable to grow our seeds at acceptable quality levels, our business, results of operations and financial condition could materially decline.

We are subject to anti-corruption and anti-money laundering laws with respect to both our domestic and international operations, and non-compliance with such laws can subject us to criminal and civil liability and harm our business.

We are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, the U.S. domestic bribery statute contained in 18 U.S.C.§201, the U.S. Travel Act, the USA PATRIOT Act, Argentine Law No. 27,401, as amended, and possibly other anti-bribery and anti-money laundering laws in countries in which we conduct activities. Anti-corruption laws are interpreted broadly and prohibit us and our collaborators from authorizing, offering, or directly or indirectly providing improper payments or benefits to recipients in the public or private sector. We or our collaborators may have direct and indirect interactions with government agencies and state-affiliated entities and universities in the course of our business. We may also have certain matters come before public international organizations such as the United Nations. We use third-party collaborators, joint venture and strategic partners, law firms, and other representatives for regulatory compliance, patent registration, lobbying, deregulation advocacy, field testing, and other purposes in a variety of countries, including those that are known to present a high corruption risk such as India, China, and Latin American countries. We can be held liable for the corrupt or other illegal activities of these third-party collaborators, our employees, representatives, contractors, partners, and agents, even if we do not explicitly authorize such activities. In addition, although we have implemented policies and procedures to ensure compliance with anti-corruption and related laws, there can be no assurance that all of our employees, representatives, contractors, partners, or agents will comply with these laws at all times. Noncompliance with these laws could subject us to whistleblower complaints, investigations, sanctions, settlements, prosecution, other or injunctions, suspension and debarment from contracting with certain governments or other persons, the loss of export privileges, reputational harm, adverse media coverage, and other collateral consequences. If any subpoenas or investigations are launched, or governmental or other sanctions are imposed, or if we do not prevail in any possible civil or criminal litigation, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be materially harmed. In addition, responding to any action will likely result in a materially significant diversion of management’s attention and resources and significant defense costs and other professional fees. Enforcement actions and sanctions could further harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property

Agreements with our collaborators and third parties may not adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets, know-how and other proprietary information, which could materially adversely affect our technology and harm our business.

We rely on a combination of intellectual property laws and other agreements with our collaborators and third parties to protect and otherwise seek to control access to, and distribution of, our proprietary information. These measures may not prevent disclosure, infringement or misappropriation of our confidential information. Our confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements or covenants may not be enforceable under applicable law and, even if they are enforceable, may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for such a breach that would effectively prevent the further dissemination of our confidential information or direct competition with us by a joint venture partner. We also have limited control over the protection of trade secrets used by our collaborators and could lose future trade secret protection if any unauthorized disclosure of such information occurs. Enforcement of any claim that a party illegally disclosed confidential information or misappropriated a trade secret is difficult, expensive and time-consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, others may independently discover our trade secrets and proprietary information, and in such cases, we could not assert any trade secret rights against such parties. Laws regarding trade secret rights in certain markets where we operate may afford little or no protection of our trade secrets. If any of our trade secrets were to be disclosed to or independently developed by a competitor, or if we otherwise were to lose protection for our trade secrets or proprietary know-how, the value of this information may be greatly reduced and our business and competitive position could be harmed. Moreover, our collaborators may allege that we have disclosed their trade secrets or confidential information.

We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.

Our commercial success depends in part on our ability to obtain intellectual property protection and/or trade secrets protection for the technologies we develop and use. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained intellectual property protection to develop their own products, and we may be unable to prevent such competitors from importing those infringing products into territories where we have intellectual property protection but enforcement is not as strong due to the exhaustion of rights. These products may compete with our product candidates and our licensed patents and other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing in those jurisdictions. In addition, competitors could use our licensed patent disclosures and/or reverse engineer our trade-secret-protected products in order to produce competing products. Moreover, growers or others in the chain of commerce may raise legal challenges against our intellectual property rights or may infringe upon our intellectual property rights, including through means that may be difficult to prevent or detect. For example, in Argentina, growers may legally avoid paying royalties to the owners of intellectual property if they keep the seeds from their own harvests and plant them for personal use. Argentine legislation in respect of breeders’ rights includes a concept of a “farmer’s privilege,” which allows growers to use seeds obtained from their own harvests to be replanted on their own farm. According to the National Seed Institute of Argentina (Instituto Nacional de Semillas), the reserves of seeds kept for personal use has grown significantly in recent years, which may increase the likelihood that growers illegally claiming the privilege may use and/or sell GM seeds into the market without paying royalties owed to us.

The legal systems of certain countries, including China, where we have sublicensed patent applications, have not historically favored the enforcement of patents or other intellectual property rights, which could hinder us from preventing the infringement of our licensed patents or other intellectual property rights and result in substantial risks to us. Proceedings to enforce our licensed patent rights in the United States or foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our licensed patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and our sublicensed patent applications at risk of not issuing and could provoke third parties to assert patent infringement or other claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license from third parties.

Changes in Argentine and U.S. patent law could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our product candidates.

As is the case with other biotech companies, our success is heavily dependent on intellectual property, including patents. Obtaining and enforcing biotech patents involves technological and legal complexity, and is costly, time consuming, and inherently uncertain. In this regard, the Argentine Patent Office (Instituto Nacional de Propiedad Intelectual) issued Regulation 283/15 with new guidelines for examining biotech inventions. These guidelines seriously restrict the patentability of several categories of inventions in the agricultural field. This restriction is already being followed in the practice of the Argentine Patent Office.

In September 2016, the Argentine Patent Office issued Argentine Regulation 56/16, under which the Argentine Patent Office will deem that any patent application whose examination had not begun by October 15, 2016 satisfies the substantive requirements of patentability (novelty, non-obviousness and industrial application); provided that a patent has been granted abroad for the same invention by a foreign patent office carrying out substantive examination in a country whose patent law has the same substantive requirements as Argentine law. This can result in prosecution times that are substantially shorter, and similar to those of the fastest jurisdictions. In particular, the patent office has applied this regulation to biotech cases as long as they are directed to matter that is not affected by the guidelines.

In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on several patent cases in recent years, either narrowing the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances or weakening the rights of patent owners in certain situations. In addition to increasing uncertainty with regard to our ability to obtain patents in the future, this combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the value of patents, once obtained. In a recent ruling (in re “Monsanto Technology LLC c/ Instituto Nacional de la Propiedad Industrial s/ Denegatoria de Patente”, case number CCF 8044/2007), Tribunal III of the Civil and Commercial Federal Court of Appeals of the City of Buenos Aires confirmed, by revoking a decision of a lower court, the rejection of a biotechnological patent application by the Argentine Patent Office, with the understanding that the invention should be protected as a plant variety protection (“PVP”) and not under a patent (the patent application was for a recombinant DNA molecule and a cell transformed by such molecule). Lack of inventive activity and non-patentable matters are also mentioned as grounds in this precedent. The Court of Appeal’s decision was appealed to the court of last resort, but the Argentine Supreme Court refused to resolve the case based on the grounds that the issue was moot as the statutory term of the patent under consideration in the case had already expired. The decision of the Court of Appeals has, therefore, become a negative precedent that may adversely affect patentability of the technologies we develop in the future. Depending on decisions by the Argentine and U.S. Congresses, the federal courts in each country, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the Argentine Patent Office, as well as the relevant authorities in other countries in which we hold licensed patents, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that may weaken or undermine our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce our existing licensed patents and patents we might obtain in the future. During recent years, certain sectors of the Argentine agricultural industry have been requesting that the Argentine PVP Law No. 20,247 (the “Argentine PVP Law”) is amended.

If we or one of our collaborators or licensees are sued for infringing the intellectual property rights of a third party, such litigation could be costly and time consuming and could prevent us or our collaborators or licensees from developing or commercializing products that incorporate our technology.

Our ability to generate significant revenues from our products depends on our and our joint ventures’ and licensees’ ability to develop, market and sell products and utilize our proprietary technologies without infringing the intellectual property and other rights of any third parties.

As the agricultural biotech industry continues to develop, we, our collaborators or licensees may become party to, or threatened with, litigation or other adverse proceedings regarding intellectual property or proprietary rights in our technology, processes, developed seed traits or seed treatments. Third parties may assert claims based on existing or future intellectual property rights and the outcome of any proceedings is subject to uncertainties that cannot be adequately quantified in advance. Any litigation proceedings could be costly and time consuming. A negative outcome from an intellectual property infringement suit could result in liability for monetary damages, require us to indemnify our licensees for damages arising from warranties we have made about the intellectual property we have licensed, which claims might not be subject to a cap, or treble damages and attorneys’ fees if we are found to have willfully infringed a patent. There is also no guarantee that we, our collaborators or licensees would be able to obtain a license under such infringed intellectual property on commercially reasonable terms or at all. A finding of infringement could prevent us, our collaborators or our licensees from developing, marketing or selling a product or force us to cease some or all of our business operations. Even if we are successful in these proceedings, we may incur substantial costs and the time and attention of our management and scientific personnel may be diverted as a result of these proceedings, which could have a material adverse effect on our operations. In some cases, our agreements with our collaborators or licensees might oblige us to pay for the enforcement of our licensed intellectual property rights, even though our collaborators or licensees may be responsible for commercializing the potentially infringing products. Claims that we have misappropriated the confidential information or trade secrets of third parties could similarly have a negative impact on our business.

The value of our intellectual property could diminish due to technological developments or challenges by competitors, making our products less competitive.

Our intellectual property rights are important to the operation of our business and the commercialization of our crop productivity products. We rely on a combination of licensed patents, PVP, trademarks, trade secret laws, confidentiality provisions and licensing arrangements to establish and protect our intellectual property. However, the importance of technology development and intellectual property protection in the crop productivity industry increases the risk that technological advances by others could render our products less competitive. Our business could be negatively affected by any of the following:

We may be required to pay royalties to employees who develop inventions that have been or will be commercialized by us, even if the rights to such inventions have been assigned to it, exclusive licenses have been granted to it and the employees have waived their rights to royalties or other additional compensation.

Under Argentine Patent and Utility Models Law No. 24,481 and Argentine Labor Law No. 20,744, which provide the legal framework related to ownership of inventions developed during an employer-employee relationship, the employer is awarded ownership of inventions when the employee was hired for the purpose of engaging in inventive discovery or when such invention otherwise derives from the knowledge acquired by virtue of the employee’s working for the employer. Depending on the nature and the scope of an employee’s contribution to an invention and the nature of his or her hiring, he or she may be entitled to additional compensation by the employer; however, the employer will still retain ownership rights on the conditions mentioned above. If an employee was hired for a purpose other than to engage in inventive discovery and he or she creates an invention that is not related to the employer’s processes, methods or business, the employee shall be the owner of the invention.

A significant portion of our employees are dedicated to activities that may be considered inventive. As a result, a significant portion of our employees execute confidentiality and ownership rights agreements upon commencement of employment whereby they agree to classify all work undertaken by them as engagement in inventive discovery, which grants us all ownership rights in inventions created while such employees are employed by us. If these assignments or exclusive licenses were deemed invalid or unenforceable, we could be required to pay royalties to our employees who have invented intellectual property that we have commercialized, which in turn may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. In addition, if these assignments or exclusive licenses were deemed invalid or unenforceable, it is possible that our employees could assign or license to third parties their rights in any inventions created while employed by us. This could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Risks Related to Rizobacter’s Acquisition

Certain of the Rizobacter shares are subject to a judicial injunction.

Concurrently with the closing of business combination, the Rizobacter Call Option was exercised and we currently own 80.00% of Rizobacter’s capital stock through our subsidiary RASA Holding, 29% of which are subject to a precautionary measure issued pursuant to an injunction that affects 44% of the total share capital of Rizobacter. In addition, the precautionary measure also covers 30% of the dividends distributed on such shares, directing such percentage of dividends into a judicially created escrow account. Simultaneously with the exercise of the Rizobacter Call Option, 1,330,156 of BIOX shares representing 10% of Rizobacter shares subject to the precautionary measures were pledged to Bioceres S.A. The precautionary measure relates to litigation among historical shareholders of Rizobacter arising from a disputed transfer of shares that occurred in 1995. Although the Argentine Supreme Court ruled against certain of the litigating historical shareholders, such shareholders subsequently pursued other legal recourse—including the precautionary measure and non-innovative (medida de no innovar)—to further dispute the original transfer of shares. The non-innovative measure (medida de no innovar) was overturned by an Argentine court of appeals on April 17, 2018.

We purchased our controlling stake in Rizobacter subject to the precautionary measure and associated ongoing litigation. Should such contingencies be lifted, the Parent may be obligated to pay a contingent purchase price of US$17.3 million to certain selling shareholders of Rizobacter. Conversely, should the court rule against the free transferability of the affected shares, we would be obligated to return certain shares, thereby reducing our equity participation in Rizobacter, and the Parent would not be obligated to pay the abovementioned contingent purchase price. Given the Argentine Supreme Court’s finding that the 1995 share transfer was valid, it is likely or probable that the Parent may be obligated to pay the contingent purchase price of US$17.3 million. Moreover, pursuant to certain financial agreements entered into by the Company, RASA Holding pledged 51.3% of its shares in Rizobacter as collateral. Therefore, in an event of default with respect to our debt obligations, we would be obligated to sell certain shares, thereby reducing our equity participation in Rizobacter. For further information, see “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—B. Liquidity and Capital Resources—Private Corporate Bonds—Convertible Notes”.

Risks Related to Operating in Latin America and Argentina

Latin America

A major portion of our operations and/or development activities are based in Latin America. As of June 30, 2020, approximately 76% of our consolidated sales of goods and services were attributable to our Argentine operations. We expect to increase our sales in Brazil and other countries in Latin America. In particular, fluctuations in the economy of Argentina and actions adopted by the governments of Latin American countries have had and may continue to have a significant impact on our subsidiaries operating in those countries.

Latin America has experienced, and may continue to experience, adverse economic or political conditions that may impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business is dependent to a certain extent upon the economic conditions prevalent in Argentina, as well as the other Latin American countries in which it currently operates, such as Uruguay, and in which it may seek to expand operations in the future, such as Brazil. Latin American countries have historically experienced uneven periods of economic growth, recessions, periods of high inflation and economic instability. Recently, the economic growth rates of the economies of many Latin American countries have slowed and some have entered mild recessions. Additionally, economic and political developments in Latin America, including future economic changes or crises (such as inflation, currency devaluation or recession), government deadlock, political instability, terrorism, civil strife, changes in laws and regulations, restrictions on the repatriation of dividends or profits, expropriation or nationalization of property, restrictions on currency convertibility, volatility of the foreign exchange market and exchange controls could impact our operations and/or the market value of the ordinary shares and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Latin American governments have exercised, and continue to exercise, significant influence over the economies of the countries in which we operate, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Historically, governments in Latin America have frequently intervened in the economies of their respective countries and have occasionally made significant changes in policy and regulations. Governmental actions to control inflation and other policies and regulations have often involved, among others, price controls, currency devaluations, capital controls and tariffs. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may be adversely affected by the changes in government policies or regulations of Latin American governments, including:

In July 2018, Andrés Manuel López Obrador was elected president of Mexico and assumed office on December 1, 2018, and in October 2018, Jair Bolsonaro was elected president of Brazil assumed office on January 1, 2019. We cannot predict the changes these new administrations may bring, the impact of such changes on the Argentine economy or the business and results of the operations of our Argentine subsidiaries.

Argentina

Our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates, including between the U.S. dollar and the Argentine peso.

Historically, and more frequently during recent years, the Argentine peso has suffered significant devaluations against the U.S. dollar. The Argentine peso depreciated 18.45% against the U.S. dollar in 2017 and 103.83% in 2018.

Until the presidential primary elections held on August 11, 2019, the peso depreciated 19.70% against the U.S. dollar. After the primary elections, the depreciation of the Argentine peso accelerated, accumulating an additional 30.12% by the end of August 2019. As a result, on September 1, 2019, the Argentine government reinstated strict restrictions and foreign exchange controls, substantially limiting the ability of legal entities and individuals to obtain foreign currency or make certain payments or distributions from Argentina, until December 31, 2019.

After reinstatement of the foreign exchange restrictions, the depreciation of the peso decelerated, ending 2019 with a total depreciation of 59.02% against the U.S. dollar. However, as a consequence of the reinstatement of the foreign exchange restrictions, an unofficial U.S. dollar trading market developed in which the peso-U.S. dollar exchange rate differs substantially from the official exchange rate, and sales of securities settled against foreign currency or transfers of securities to depositories outside Argentina (“blue-chip swaps”) expanded. Due to the strong demand for the U.S. dollar and the consequent leak of U.S. dollar reserves from the Argentine Central Bank, the Fernandez administration, since taking office in December 2019, extended and expanded the foreign exchange controls and increased the regulations on blue-chip swaps. As a result, between January 1 and September 30, 2020, the Argentine peso depreciated only 27% in the official market, but the gap between the exchange rates in the official and the unofficial markets and that resulting from the blue-chip swaps reached peaks of more than 100%.

Our consolidated financial information included herein is presented in U.S. dollars. Fluctuations in exchange rates relative to the U.S. dollar could impair the comparability of our results from period to period and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Our results of operations and financial condition are affected by changes in the Argentine peso to U.S. dollar exchange rate because the majority of our operations are conducted in Argentina and, accordingly, a significant portion of our costs are incurred in Argentine pesos, while our revenues are primarily denominated in or influenced by U.S. dollars.

As of July 1, 2018, the peso qualifies as a currency of a hyperinflationary economy, and we are required to apply inflationary adjustments to our financial statements, which could adversely affect our Argentine subsidiaries’ financial statements, results of operations and financial condition.

Pursuant to the International Accounting Standards (“IAS”) 29 (Financial Reporting in Hyperinflationary Economies), the financial statements of entities whose functional currency is that of a hyperinflationary economy must be adjusted for the effects of changes in a suitable general price index. IAS 29 does not prescribe when hyperinflation arises but includes several characteristics of hyperinflation. The International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) does not identify specific hyperinflationary jurisdictions. However, in June 2018, the International Practices Task Force of the Centre for Quality, which monitors “highly inflationary countries” categorized Argentina as a country with projected three-year cumulative inflation rate greater than 100%. Additionally, some of the other qualitative factors of IAS 29 were present, providing prima facie evidence that the Argentine economy is hyperinflationary for purposes of IAS 29. Therefore, Argentine companies using International Financial Reporting Standard as adopted by the IASB (“IFRS”) are required to apply IAS 29 to their financial statements for periods ending on and after July 1, 2018.

Similarly, Argentine Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“Argentine GAAP”) (Technical Resolutions No. 17, 39 and 41 (“TR 17”)) also requires the adjustment of financial statements to reflect the changes in general price index in the context of hyperinflation. The Argentine Federation of Economic Sciences Professionals Bodies (Federación Argentina de Consejos Profesionales de Ciencias Económicas), after finding the presence of the qualitative requirements of Argentine GAAP for the adjustment, stated that the adjustment should be applied to all Argentine companies’ financial statements for periods ending on or after July 1, 2018.

Adjustments to reflect inflation, such as those required by IAS 29 and TR 17, were prohibited by law No. 23,928 (the “Law 23,928”). Additionally, Decree No. 664/03, issued by the Argentine government (the “Decree”), instructed regulatory authorities, such as Public Registries of Commerce, the Superintendence of Corporations of the City of Buenos Aires and the Argentine Securities Commission (Comisión Nacional de Valores), to accept only financial statements that comply with the prohibition set forth by the Law 23,928. However, on December 4, 2018, Law 27,468 abrogated Decree No. 664/03 and amended Law 23,928 indicating that the prohibition of indexation no longer applies to the financial statements. As a result, beginning with the period ending on December 31, 2018, Bioceres’ Argentine subsidiaries began preparing financial statements in compliance with IFRS, adopting IAS 29 and TR 17.

For purposes of the determination of the indexation for tax purposes, Law 27,468 substituted the WPI (as defined below) for the CPI and modified the standards for triggering the tax indexation procedure. During the first three years as from January 1, 2018, the tax indexation will be applicable if the variation of the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”) exceeds 55% in 2018, 30% in 2019 and 15% in 2020. From January 1, 2021, the tax indexation procedure will be triggered under similar standards as those set forth by IAS 29 and TR 17. To the extent that the CPI increased by 47.6% in 2018 (below the statutory threshold for that year), the tax indexation procedure was not triggered for 2018. However, to the extent that the CPI increased by 42.8% between June 30, 2019 and June 30, 2020 and 55.8% between June 30, 2018 and June 30, 2019, the statutory threshold for the tax indexation was triggered for Argentine entities with fiscal years ending on June 30, 2019, such as our Argentine subsidiaries.

For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, we increased our tax expenses and tax payable by US$1.8 million. This incremental tax expense was allocated in accordance with Law 27,541, which amended Law 27,468, and will be payable with one-sixth allocated to the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 and the remaining five-sixths allocated equally to the fiscal years ending June 30, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

We cannot predict the future impact that the application of IAS 29 and the eventual application of the tax indexation procedure and related adjustments will have on our Argentine subsidiaries’ financial statements or the effects on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Also, we cannot predict when the application of IAS 29 and the tax indexation will no longer be mandatory.

Argentine government intervention in the economy could adversely affect the economy and our financial condition and results of operations.

During recent years, the Argentine government increased its direct intervention in the economy, including through the implementation of regulation of market conditions, expropriations or nationalizations and price controls.

Between 2006 and 2012, the Argentine government conducted expropriations including mainly utilities or companies in strategic sectors of public interest, like Aguas y Saneaminentos S.A. in 2006, Aerolíneas Argentinas S.A. in 2008 and YPF S.A. in 2012. In an unprecedented case in 2020, the government attempted the expropriation of a company fully involved in the private sector with no public interest, like Vicentín S.A., which is the fourth largest grain exporter in Argentina, and, in addition, was undergoing a restructuring under reorganization proceedings. However, the government desisted due to generalized massive spontaneous protests and opposition from opposing political parties and the legal and financial community.

In September 2014, the Argentine Congress enacted Law No. 26,991 which amends the Supply Law No. 20,680 (Ley de Abastecimiento) that enables the Argentine government to intervene in certain markets when it considers that any party to such market is trying to impose prices or supply restrictions in such market. The law grants broad powers to the relevant enforcing agency including to order the sale, production, distribution and/or delivery of basic needs goods throughout the country in case of a shortage of supply.

In February 28, 2020, the Argentine Congress enacted the Products Display Law No. 27,545 (Ley de Góndolas), which was promulgated on March 16, 2020, and which regulates the offer and display of products in supermarkets. Through Decree No. 690/2020, on August 22, 2020, the Argentine government declared the information and telecommunications services to be deemed essential public services and froze their tariffs until December 31, 2020.

Since September 2019, the Argentine government reinstated and strengthened the foreign exchange controls and imposed certain restrictions for the access to MULC. See “—Our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates, including between the U.S. dollar and the Argentine peso”, and “—Argentine exchange controls and restrictions have been reinstated in Argentina limiting access to MULC to make payments and distributions from our Argentine subsidiaries and receive the proceeds of any sale of our assets in Argentina.”

Substantially all of our assets are located in Argentina. Therefore, we are subject to political uncertainties, including expropriation or nationalization of our business or assets, or subject to renegotiation or annulment of existing contracts and other similar risks. In the future, intervention in the economy by the Argentine government may continue or increase, the occurrence of which may adversely affect Argentina’s economy and, in turn, our business, results of operations and financial condition. We cannot assure investors that these or other measures that may be adopted by the Argentine government in the future in response to social unrest, such as nationalizations, forced renegotiations or modifications of existing contracts, new tax policies, price fixing, regulations and reforms affecting foreign trade and investments, will not have a material adverse effect on the Argentine economy and, consequently, will not adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Continuing high inflation may have a negative effect on the Argentine economy and on our financial performance.

In the past, inflation has materially undermined the Argentine economy and the government’s ability to foster conditions that would permit stable growth. In recent years, Argentina has confronted inflationary pressures (including the depreciation of the Argentine peso), evidenced by significantly higher fuel, energy, and food prices, among other factors.

According to data published by the Argentine National Institute of Statistics and Census (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos) (“INDEC”), the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”) increased 24.8% in 2017, 47.6% in 2018, 53.8% in 2019 and 18.9% between January and August 2020; and the Wholesale Price Index (“WPI”) increased 18.8% in 2017, 73.5% in 2018, 58.5% in 2019 and 14.7% between January and August 2020. According to the budget bill formulated by the Ministry of Economy on September 17, 2020, the Argentine government predicted a CPI around 28% for 2020.

If the primary fiscal deficit is not reduced and the foreign currency exchange rate is not stabilized, inflation rates would continue escalating and end in hyperinflation and a new economic crisis. There is uncertainty regarding the continuing effects of COVID-19 and the effects of the measures that the Argentine government and the Argentine Central Bank have adopted, or may adopt in the future, to reduce the fiscal deficit, re-activate the economy, stabilize foreign currency exchange rate and control inflation. If inflation remains high or continues to rise, Argentina’s economy may be negatively impacted, and our results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

Limited access of the Argentine government and the private sector to the international capital markets could adversely affect our financial condition.

During recent years, the Argentine government and provinces have defaulted in the payment of their debt, which has limited their access as well as that of private companies to the international financial markets, or it has substantially increased their financing costs.

After Argentina’s 2001 sovereign default, Argentina restructured approximately 91% of its defaulted foreign currency eligible debt pursuant to exchange offers in 2005 and 2010. Bondholders that declined to participate in those exchange offers, filed lawsuits against Argentina in several countries, including the United States.

In March 2016, the Argentine government reached settlement agreements with holders of a significant portion of the defaulted bonds and repaid the majority of the holdout creditors with the proceeds from a US$16.5 billion international offering. Although the size of the claims involved decreased significantly, litigation initiated by bondholders that have not accepted Argentina’s settlement offer continues in several jurisdictions.

Pursuant to a report issued by the Secretary of Finance of the Argentine government, as of December 2019, Argentina’s foreign debt amounted to US$311.2 billion, which represents 91.6% of Argentina’s debt-to-gross domestic product (“GDP”). In 2020 and 2021, the Argentine government had payments due of about US$52.0 billion and US$37.1 billion, respectively, on sovereign debt in U.S. dollars and pesos, of which about US$11 billion were due in the first quarter of 2020 and US$26 billion were due in the second quarter of 2020. Because Argentina’s recession was deepened by the effects of COVID-19, the foreign exchange crisis and increasing deficit and inflation, the Argentine government was in an urgent need of restructuring its sovereign debt.

On February 11, 2020, the Argentine government postponed the payment of principal and suspended the accrual of interest under its US$1.6 billion of dual currency bonds maturing in February 2020 until September 30, 2020. On April 6, 2020, by Decree No. 346/2020 the Argentine government deferred payments of interest services and principal repayments of the national public debt instrumented by U.S. dollar-denominated securities issued under the law of the Argentine Republic until December 31, 2020.

On April 21, 2020, the Argentine government launched an offer for the exchange of approximately US$64.8 billion of eligible foreign currency external sovereign bonds. On May 22, 2020, the Argentine government defaulted in the payment of the BIRAD/USD 6.875% due 2021, the BIRAD/USD 7.5% due 2026 and BIRAD/USD 7.625% due 2046 eligible bonds. After several extensions of the expiration of the invitation and the improvement of the initial offer, at the expiration of the last extension of the invitation term on August 28, 2020, the Argentine government obtained consents to exchange and/or restructure 99.01% of the aggregate principal amount of all series of the approximately US$64.8 billion eligible bonds.

In June 2018, the International Monetary Fund (“IMF”) approved a financial support plan for Argentina in the form of a Stand-By Arrangement for US$50 billion, that was extended to US$57.1 billion in September 2018, of which as of the date of this report the IMF disbursed an aggregate of US$44.70 billion. The Argentine government is negotiating an extension with the IMF for payments under the Stand-By Arrangement that mature in 2021 and 2022.

If the negotiations with the IMF fail, the Argentine government defaults again in the payment of its sovereign debt or the measures adopted and to be adopted by the Argentine government to reduce the fiscal deficit, control inflation and stabilize the foreign exchange market are not effective, Argentina’s ability to obtain international or multilateral private financing or direct foreign investment may be limited, which may in turn impair its ability to implement reforms and public policies to foster economic growth, impair the ability of private sector entities to access the international capital markets or make the terms of such financing much less favorable that those accessible by companies in other countries in the region and may accelerate the depreciation of the peso, foster inflation and deepen the economic crisis and recession.

Lack of access to international or domestic financial markets or increase in the costs of such financing could affect the projected capital expenditures for our operations in Argentina, which, in turn, may have an adverse effect on our financial condition or the results of our operations.

An increase in export and import duties and controls may have an adverse impact on our business.

Since 2002, the Argentine government has imposed duties on the exports of various primary and manufactured products. Most such duties were suspended or subject to progressive reduction after the Macri administration took office in December 2015. However, in September 2018, general export duties were re-imposed and the progressive reduction of export duties on soybean products stopped. For example, a general additional export duty has been imposed on all exports of goods, levied on the lower of 12% of the good’s FOB value or AR$3 or AR$4 per U.S. dollar, depending on the goods.

On December 4, 2018, the Argentine Congress approved the budget bill for 2019 through Law No. 27,467, which amended the Customs Code to allow for duties to be applied to the exportation of services. In addition, the Argentine government was allowed to impose export duties of up to 30% until December 31, 2020. However, in case of services and goods that were not subject to export duties before September 2, 2018, the maximum rate was 12%. On January 2, 2019, the Argentine government issued Decree No. 1201/2018, which established an export duty on export of services at a rate of 12% with a maximum limit of AR$4 per each U.S. dollar of the amount arising from the invoice or equivalent document. On December 28, 2019, Decree No. 99/2019 extended the application of duties on export of services until December 31, 2021 with a rate of 5% without limit.

On December 21, 2019, the Argentine Congress enacted Law No. 27,541 (Ley de Solidaridad Social y Reactivación Productiva en el Marco de la Emergencia Pública, or the “Solidarity Law”), that established new maximum export duties of 33% for soybean, 15% for goods that were not subject to the payment of export duties as of September 2, 2018, 5% for agroindustry products of regional economies defined by the Argentine government, and 5% for industry goods and services.

As of February 29, 2020, the following crop exports were subject to the following export duties: soybean and soy products 30%, corn, wheat, barley, sunflower and sorghum 12%, corn and wheat flour 9% and sunflower oil 12%. However, on March 4, 2020, the Argentine government issued Decree No. 230/2020 pursuant to which increased the export duties for soybeans and soy product from 30% to 33%, and reduced export duties for sunflower from 12% to 7%, for corn flour from 9% to 5%, for wheat flour from 9% to 7% and for sunflower oil from 12% to 5%.

In October 2020, the Argentine government adopted a series of measures seeking to promote production, exports and the liquidation of U.S. dollars from exports in the MULC, including the temporary reduction of export duties for soybean and soybean derived products through Decree No. 790/2020. However, such measures were not expected to have the intended results.

The Argentine government imposed the Import Monitoring System (the “SIMI”) in December 2015. Under this system, importers are required to submit certain information electronically through the SIMI application which, once approved, will be valid for 90 calendar days.

The Argentine government has also enacted an import licensing regime that includes automatic and non-automatic licensing for imports according to the tariff codes of the goods to be imported. Automatic import licensing implies that the importer must only get through the SIMI and any other certification related to the imported goods. Non-automatic licensing implies that the authorities also have a ten-day term to either approve or reasonably reject the import license requested due to its effect on local businesses, aside from the other import requirements that the goods may have (including SIMI and certifications).

We cannot make assurances or predictions that there will not be further increases in the export duties or that other new export duties, taxes, quotas or restrictions will not be imposed. The imposition of new export duties, taxes, quotas or restrictions or a significant increase in existing export duties or the application of export quotas or the imposition of regimes that aim to restrict or control imports and exports could adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations.

A continued decline in the global prices of Argentina’s main commodity exports could have an adverse effect on Argentina’s economic growth.

High commodity prices have contributed significantly to the increase in Argentine exports since 2002 as well as in governmental revenues from export taxes. However, relying on the export of certain commodities, such as soy, has made the Argentine economy more vulnerable to fluctuations in the prices of commodities. Since the beginning of 2015, international commodity prices of Argentina’s primary commodity exports have declined, which has had an adverse effect on Argentina’s economic growth.

Recently, prompted by the global crisis caused by the COVID-19 (see “—COVID-19 could have an adverse material effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations”) and the significant decrease in oil prices, international commodity prices continued decreasing. If international commodity prices continue to decline, the Argentine economy could be adversely affected.

These circumstances would have a negative impact on the levels of government revenues, available foreign exchange and the government’s ability to service its sovereign debt, and could either generate recessionary or inflationary pressures, depending on the government’s reaction. Either of these results would adversely impact Argentina’s economic growth and, therefore, our financial condition and results of operations.

Argentina continues to face considerable economic uncertainty.

Since 2018, Argentina has been experiencing strong increases in the fluctuations in the currency exchange rates, a substantial gap between the official exchange rates and the alternative exchange rates and high inflation. See “Our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates, including between the U.S. dollar and the Argentine peso”, “Continuing high inflation may have a negative effect on the Argentine economy and on our financial performance”.

All the foregoing, along with the measures attempting to control inflation adopted by the Argentine government, caused a deepening recession (the GDP decreased 6.2% in 2018 and 1.7% in 2019), increasing unemployment and medium and small companies’ failures. However, in 2020 the general macroeconomic conditions were worsened with the irruption of COVID-19. See “The effects of COVID-19 and certain measures adopted by the Argentine government to mitigate the effects of the pandemic are negatively affecting us, and we cannot accurately predict its ultimate impact on our results of operations”. The stay-home orders and businesses restrictions, along with the global recession contributed to deepening the recession further. According to INDEC, during the second quarter of 2020 the GDP dropped 19.1% interannual (what represents the highest drop of the GDP in Argentine history) with a peak of 16.2% in the second quarter, and as of July 2020 the economic activity dropped 13.2% interannual. All these circumstances also provoked a deep increase of poverty, which, according to INDEC, as of June 30, 2020 affected more than 40.9% of the population.

For containing the escalade of the currency exchange rate, the Argentine Central Bank have been selling its reserves, which significantly decreased from US$65.7 billion as of December 31, 2018 to US$44.7 as of December 31, 2019 and to US$ 42.2 billion as of September 21, 2020; provided that the actual liquid reserves in U.S. dollar are substantially lower.

In addition, the Argentine government financed all economic assistance in connection with COVID-19 with a heavy issuance of currency, which is also contributing to inflation, demand for U.S. dollars and devaluation of the Argentine peso.

If the Argentine government does not adopt the correct measures and address the required structural changes urgently the current economic conditions may be worsened provoking a general economic collapse, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

The Argentine government may order salary increases for employees in the private sector, which could increase our operating costs and adversely affect our results of operations.

Due to high levels of inflation, different unions requested salary increases to further compensate for the inflation during 2018, as well as quarterly and monthly revisions during 2019.

On December 13, 2019, the Argentine government issued Decree No. 34/2019, which duplicated the amount of the statutory severance payments payable to employees hired before December 13, 2019 and laid-off between December 13, 2019 and November 30, 2020. Moreover, by Decree No. 14/2020 issued on January 3, 2020, the Argentine government approved a mandatory salary increase for private sector employees of AR$3,000 in January 2020 and additional AR$1,000 in February 2020. Pursuant to the Solidarity Law, the Argentine government may apply mandatory salary increases to private entities. Through Decree No. 14/2020 issued on January 3, 2020, the Argentine government approved a mandatory salary increase for private sector employees of AR$3,000 in January 2020 and additional AR$1,000 in February 2020.

These bonuses and similar salary increases and additional payments could also have an effect on inflation, and, if, as a result of such measures and demands, future salary increases in the Argentine peso exceed the pace of the devaluation of the Argentine peso, this could have a material and adverse effect on our costs and business, results of operations and financial condition.

Current investigations with respect to the involvement of politicians and several construction companies in the so-called Notebooks Investigation (Escándalo de los Cuadernos), may have a material adverse effect on our ability to access international financing.

As of the date of this report, the Office of the Argentine Federal Prosecutor is conducting several investigations, which are ongoing, into allegations of money laundering and bribery of public officials. The largest of these investigations relates to Los Cuadernos de las Coimas, or the Notebooks Investigation. This investigation relates to notebooks kept by a driver who worked for public officials during the Kirchner Administration. The notebooks allegedly document a widespread corruption scheme involving illegal cash payments by businessmen to government officials in order to win government contracts.

As a result of these investigations, several businessmen (including construction company executives) and former public officials have been detained and prosecuted, including the former president of Argentina, Mrs. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who was prosecuted for illicit association.

The Notebooks Investigation and other subsequent investigations has adversely affected the access of the government and private companies to local and international financing. We cannot predict what impact these investigations might have or what other measures may be adopted by the courts, the current administration or any future administration, each of which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and the results of our operations.

The disposition or sale of BIOX shares may be subject to taxation in Argentina.

Under the Argentine Income Tax Law (as amended by the Tax Reform), gains realized from the indirect sale or disposal of assets located in Argentina, including shares or other equity participations in Argentine companies by an entity or individual not resident in Argentina (“Non-Argentine Resident”) are taxable under certain conditions, as if a direct sale took place (the “Tax on Indirect Sales”).

The Tax Reform created a presumption of income from Argentine source on the sale or disposition by Non-Argentine Residents of shares and participations (or rights to receive such shares or participations) in foreign entities whose underlying assets are fully or partially located in Argentina, as long as the following conditions are met:

The securities or rights of the foreign entity being sold or disposed represent, at least, ten percent of the equity of that entity, at the time of their disposal or in any of the 12 previous months. For purposes of this calculation, ownership of related entities, spouses and other relatives must be considered jointly.

In case the Tax on Indirect Sales applies, the Argentine source gain on which the Tax on Indirect Sales will be calculated is a proportion to the value of the Argentine assets held by the foreign entity with respect to the total value of the securities or rights being transferred.

The Tax on Indirect Sales is levied at a 15% rate on the net capital gain (gross sale price less acquisition cost), or at a 13.5% effective rate on the gross sale price, at the option of the seller. However, such rate may be reduced if a Treaty to Avoid Double Taxation applies to the seller. If the Tax on Indirect Sales becomes applicable and the tax is applied on a net basis, pursuant to current income tax rules, the acquisition costs may be adjusted by inflation to calculate the net capital gain.

The mechanism to comply with the payment of the Tax on the Indirect Sales depends on the tax residency of the buyer: (i) if the buyer or acquirer is an Argentine corporate entity (in general, entities organized or incorporated under Argentine law, certain traders and intermediaries, local branches of foreign entities, sole proprietorships and individuals carrying on certain commercial activities in Argentina) (“Argentine Entity”) or an Argentine resident individual (“Argentine Individual”), by the Argentine Entity or Argentine Individual who will act as withholding agent, (ii) if the buyer is not an Argentine Entity or and Argentine Individual, the tax has to be paid by the seller or transferor directly (through an international wire transfer or through its legal representative in Argentina, if any).

Argentine Income Tax Law sets forth that the Tax on Indirect Sales does not apply to transfers made within the same economic group. Pursuant to the Regulatory Decree of the Argentine Income Tax Law, transfers within the same economic group would take place when the seller or sellers participate or participates, directly or indirectly, in at least 80% of the transferee’s capital, or vice versa, or when one or more entities participate, directly or indirectly, in at least 80% of the transferor’s and transferee’s capital, and such participations have been held for at least two years prior to the transfer.

The payment of the In-Kind Consideration under the Rizobacter Call Option may be subject to taxation in Argentina.

The BIOX shares delivered to Grantors in connection with the payment of the In-Kind Consideration under the Rizobacter Call Option would be subject to the Tax on Indirect Sales at the level of the Company, levied on the gain resulting from the difference between the BIOX shares’ tax basis (acquisition cost, equal to the redemption price of such shares) and the value received by the Company in connection with the payment of the In-Kind Consideration. Any resulting Tax on Indirect Sales would be calculated on the proportion of the value that the Argentine assets represent with respect to the total value of the BIOX shares delivered and should be paid to the Argentine tax authorities by our legal representative in Argentina. However, to the extent that the value received by the Company in connection with the delivery of the BIOX shares and satisfaction of the In-Kind Consideration equals the redemption price of such shares, and as a result equals the acquisition costs, there would be no tax basis for the Tax on Indirect Sales.

Argentine exchange controls and restrictions have been reinstated in Argentina limiting access to MULC to make payments and distributions from our Argentine subsidiaries and receive the proceeds of any sale of our assets in Argentina.

Due to the foreign exchange crisis in August 2019 and the continued reduction of the Central Bank’s foreign currency reserves, since September 1, 2019, the Argentine government reinstated strict exchange controls and transfer restrictions, substantially limiting the ability of legal entities and individuals to obtain foreign currency or make certain payments or distributions out of Argentina. See “—Item10. Additional Information—D. Exchange Controls.”

Despite the adoption of the foregoing measures and restrictions, the demand for dollars continued to increase and the Argentine Central Bank continued losing U.S. dollar reserves. In response, the Argentine government further strengthened the foreign exchange controls to reduce the loss of federal reserves and further regulated blue-chip swaps, to reduce the gap between those transactions and the official foreign exchange rate for the purchase of U.S. dollars. In this regard, the Argentine Central Bank adopted a series of additional regulations including the requirement that in order to access MULC for the purchase of foreign currency the client must file before the entity through which is accessing to the MULC an affidavit declaring that among other things (a) all its holdings of foreign currency in Argentina are deposited at local bank accounts; (b) does not hold liquid foreign assets (i.e. holdings of foreign currency) outside Argentina in excess of US$100,000; and (c) commits to settle through MULC, within five business days from settlement, all amounts received outside Argentina from the payment of loans granted to third parties, withdraw or expiration of term deposits or sale of any assets, when the asset was acquired, the term deposit made or the loan granted, after May 28, 2020. See “—Item10. Additional Information—D. Exchange Controls.”

In addition, on September 15, 2020, the Argentine Central Bank restricted the access to MULC for the payment of principal under foreign financial debt with third parties (other than with international or multilateral credit organizations) in excess of US$1,000,000 per month in the aggregate with maturities between October 15, 2020 and March 31, 2021 to an amount equal to up to 40% of the amount originally due; and provided that the remaining unpaid principal balance is refinanced through a new foreign financial debt with an average life of at least two years, with certain limited exceptions. There is currently no access to MULC for the payment of principal under foreign financial debt with related parties until March 31, 2021, with certain limited exemptions. See “—Item 10. Additional Information—D. Exchange Controls.”

In the past, the Argentine government also imposed informal restrictions, such as limitations on the ability of certain local companies and individuals to purchase foreign currency. Informal restrictions may consist in de facto measures restricting local residents and companies from purchasing foreign currency through the MULC to make payments out of Argentina otherwise permitted under the foreign exchange rules, such as payment for the import of goods and services.

In response to the reinstatement of the foreign exchange restrictions, an unofficial U.S. dollar trading market developed in which the peso-U.S. dollar exchange rate differs substantially from the official peso-U.S. dollar exchange rate, and the use of blue-chip swaps expanded which, are much more expensive than acquiring foreign currency through MULC at the official exchange rate. See “—Our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates, including between the U.S. dollar and the Argentine peso.” Exchange controls have generally affected the level of international reserves deposited with the Argentine Central Bank, which significantly decreased from US$65.7 billion as of December 31, 2018 to US$44.7 as of December 31, 2019 and to US$ 42.2 billion as of September 21, 2020.

Our subsidiary Rizobacter faces maturity of foreign indebtedness for an amount of US$4,281,581 in principal amount plus interest on February 19, 2021 under the Rizobacter Series II Notes due 2021 which is subject to the restrictions described above.

All these measures could lead to political and social tensions and undermine the Argentine government’s public finances, as has occurred in the past, which could adversely affect Argentina’s economy and prospects for economic growth, and could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

In addition, we may be impaired from receiving payments and transfers from our Argentine subsidiaries or such payments and transfers could be subject to substantial additional costs which, in either case, could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Foreign exchange restrictions have reinstated the mandatory repatriation of export receivables.

Since September 2, 2018, the Argentine government has reinstated the mandatory repatriation into Argentina and the conversion into pesos through the MULC of the proceeds from the collections of foreign currency outside of Argentina by Argentine residents in connection with exports of goods within certain specific dates. See “—Item10. Additional Information—D. Exchange Controls.”

Regardless of the applicable maximum terms described above, upon collection of the export receivables, the proceeds thereof are subject to the mandatory repatriation within the five consecutive days computed from the date of payment or collection.

In addition, the Argentine government also reinstated the mandatory repatriation into Argentina and the conversion into pesos through the MULC of the receivables for export services within five consecutive days computed from the date they are received.

The reinstatement of the repatriation of export of goods and services receivables and the additional restrictions imposed on the access to the MULC could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Changes in Argentine tax laws may adversely affect the results of our operations, financial condition and cash flows.

On December 29, 2017, the Argentine government enacted Law No. 27,430 (the “Tax Reform”), which reduced the corporate income tax rate was reduced from 35% to 30% for fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2018 and 25% for fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2020. Additionally, the distribution of dividends is subject to a 7% tax rate if the distributed profits derive from the fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2018 or 13% tax rate if the distributed profits derive from fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2020.

Under the Solidarity Law, the reduction of the corporate tax rate to 25% was suspended and the 30% rate applies to fiscal years initiating up to January 1, 2021. Consequently, the effectiveness of the 25% and 13% tax rates have been delayed until tax years commencing after January 1, 2021.

The Solidarity Law also introduced amendments to the income tax, personal assets tax, excise tax on certain goods, tax on debits and credits in local bank accounts and social security rules. It also established a new tax on certain purchases of foreign currency by Argentine residents, a new tax debt settlement plan for certain taxpayers, and established new rates on exports of goods and services.

Argentine companies are required to pay the personal assets tax corresponding to Argentine resident individuals, foreign individuals and foreign entities for holding equity interests in such companies as of December 31 of each year. The applicable tax rate until 2018 was 0.25% and the tax is levied on the equity stated in the latest financial statements.

Under the Solidarity Law, the tax rate applicable to shares or participations in the capital of companies governed by the Argentine General Companies Law was increased from 0.25% to 0.50% of the pro-rata equity value.

We cannot assure that the Argentine government or any of its political divisions will not adopt additional changes and reforms in tax matters, nor that these reforms and those that may be adopted in the future will not adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

The holding of Argentine companies’ equity by Non-Argentine residents and dividend distributions from Argentine Entities to Non-Argentine Residents may be subject to taxation in Argentina.

Non-Argentine residents are subject to Argentine personal assets tax for holding shares and other equity participations in Argentine companies as of December 31st of each year at a rate of 0.50%, which is levied on the proportional net worth value (valor patrimonial proporcional) of the shares arising from the last balance sheet. Argentine companies are obliged to pay the tax on behalf of their Non-Argentine resident shareholders, partners or owners and are entitled to seek reimbursement from them.

As a result of the Tax Reform, dividends derived from profits obtained by Argentine Entities during fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2018 and up to December 31, 2019, paid to Non-Argentine residents are subject to income tax withholding at an effective rate of 7%. Such rate is increased to 13% in case dividends derived from for profits obtained during fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2020. The 13% domestic rate may be reduced by application of tax treaties signed by Argentina. However, on December 23, 2019, the Solidarity Law suspended the reduction of the corporate tax rate for Argentine Entities to 25% (with dividends being taxed at 13%) and established that 30% rate (with dividends being taxed at 7%) remains applicable until fiscal years initiated until January 1, 2021. Consequently, the effectiveness of the 25% and 13% tax rates has been delayed until tax years commencing after January 1, 2021.

We cannot predict the full impact that the application of these taxes would have on the Company, which is not an Argentine company, BCS Holding Inc. and their other Non-Argentine Residents subsidiaries in connection with their holding of shares and equity in Argentine companies.

Risks Related to Our Securities

Our share repurchase program may reduce liquidity.

On May 6, 2020, our Board of Directors approved a program to repurchase our own securities. As described in Item 10 of this report, we may repurchase up to US$5,000,000 to enhance the allocation of capital to certain equity-finance obligations (the “Buy-Back Program”). As of June 30, 2020, we acquired 5,100 ordinary shares under the Buy-Back Program. Future purchases, if any, would be funded from our cash balances and could reduce our financial liquidity and indirectly add to our indebtedness, as well as reduce liquidity of our ordinary shares.

There can be no assurance that we will be able to comply with the continued listing standards of the NYSE American.

Our ordinary shares are currently listed on the NYSE American (the “NYSE”). Our continued eligibility for listing may depend on, among other things, the amount of “public float” (equity held by non-affiliates). If the NYSE delists BIOX shares from trading on its exchange for failure to meet the listing standards, BIOX shareholders could face significant material adverse consequences including:

The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because our ordinary shares are listed on the NYSE or another national securities exchange, they are covered securities. If our securities were no longer listed on NYSE, they would not be covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer securities.

As the resale restriction on a significant portion of our ordinary shares following the business combination has expired, such ordinary shares may be sold into the market at any time. This could cause the market price of our ordinary shares to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.

Sales of a substantial number of shares in the public market could occur at any time. These sales, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares intend to sell shares, could reduce the market price of our ordinary shares.

The initial shareholders of UAC agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their shares for certain period following the business combination, which has expired. In addition, in connection with the execution Exchange Agreement, UAC and Bioceres, Inc. entered into certain lock-up agreement, which has also expired. As restrictions on resale ended, the market price of our ordinary shares could decline if the holders thereof sell them or are perceived by the market as intending to sell them.

Conversion of the Notes would increase the number of ordinary shares and result in dilution to shareholders.

On March 6, 2020, we issued $42.5 million Notes in a private placement. The Notes will mature on March 6, 2023 unless earlier converted or repurchased. The conversion price of the Notes is $8.00 per share (the “Strike Price”). The Notes are convertible into cash, ordinary shares or a combination of cash and shares at the holders’ option upon maturity or the occurrence of a change of control. At any time prior to maturity, we may elect to convert the Notes into ordinary shares through a mandatory conversion, provided that our free float exceeds $100 million and the share price has traded above the Strike Price for 10 consecutive days.

The issuance of a substantial number of additional ordinary shares upon conversion of the Notes will result in dilution to the then existing holders of our ordinary shares and potentially increase the number of ordinary in the public market. Sales of substantial numbers of such ordinary shares in the public market could adversely affect the market price of our ordinary shares.

Servicing the Notes requires a significant amount of cash, and we may not have sufficient cash flow to pay the Notes.

Our ability to make scheduled payments of the principal of, to pay interest on, or to refinance our indebtedness, including the Notes, depends on our future performance, which is subject to many factors, including, economic, financial, competitive and other, beyond our control. We may elect to make interest payments under the Notes in kind, which will be capitalized, but if the Notes are not converted into ordinary shares, we will be required to pay the principal thereof in cash. Our ability to refinance the Notes, which mature in 2023, will depend on the financial markets and our financial condition at such time. We may not be able to engage in any of these activities or engage in these activities on desirable terms, which could result in a default on our debt obligations and limit our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business.

Holders of the Notes have the right to require us to repurchase their Notes for cash upon the occurrence of a change of control. We cannot assure you that we will have sufficient financial resources, or will be able to arrange financing, to pay the price in cash with respect to any Notes surrendered by holders for repurchase upon a change of control. In addition, restrictions under our then existing credit facilities or other indebtedness, if any, may not allow us to repurchase the Notes upon a change of control. Our failure to repurchase the Notes upon a change of control when required would result in an event of default with respect to the Notes which could, in turn, constitute a default under the terms of our other indebtedness, if any. If the repayment of the related indebtedness were to be accelerated after any applicable notice or grace periods, we may not have sufficient funds to repay the indebtedness and repurchase the Notes.

We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of NYSE rules and, as a result, qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.

Bioceres S.A. controls, directly or indirectly, a majority of the voting power of our outstanding shares. Under NYSE rules, a listed company of which more than 50.0% of the voting power for the appointment of directors is held by any person or group of persons acting together is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain NYSE corporate governance requirements, including the requirement (i) that a majority of the board of directors consist of independent directors, as defined under the NYSE rules and (ii) to have a compensation committee and a nominating and governance committee. We have decided to be treated as a “controlled company” and, even though three members of our Board of Directors and a majority of the members of our compensation committee and our nominating and governance committee (that we chose to establish) consists of independent directors, you may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the NYSE corporate governance requirements.

Bioceres S.A. controls us, and its interests may conflict with yours in the future.

Bioceres S.A. currently indirectly owns 63.7% of Bioceres Crop Solutions votes. As a result of this voting control, Bioceres S.A. will effectively be able to determine the outcome of all matters requiring shareholder approval, including, but not limited to, the appointment and removal of directors (subject to any contractual designation rights), as well as other matters of corporate or management policy (such as potential mergers or acquisitions, payment of dividends, asset sales, and amendments to organizational documents). This concentration of ownership may delay or deter possible changes in control and limit the liquidity of the trading market for BIOX shares, which may reduce the value of an investment such shares. This voting control could also deprive shareholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a potential sale of Bioceres Crop Solutions. So long as Bioceres S.A. and its affiliates continue to own a significant amount of Bioceres Crop Solutions’ voting power, they may continue to be able to strongly influence or effectively control its decisions. The interests of Bioceres S.A. and its affiliates may not coincide with the interests of other holders of BIOX shares.

The price of our securities may fluctuate.

Fluctuations in the price of our securities could contribute to the loss of all or part of your investment. If an active market for our securities develops and continues, the trading price of our securities could be volatile and subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. Any of the factors listed below could have a material adverse effect on your investment in our securities and our securities may trade at prices significantly below the price you paid for them. In such circumstances, the trading price of our securities may not recover and may experience a further decline.

Factors affecting the trading price of our securities may include, among others:

Broad market and industry factors may materially harm the market price of our securities irrespective of our operating performance. The stock market in general and the NYSE have experienced price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of the particular companies affected. The trading prices and valuations of these stocks, and of our securities, may not be predictable. A loss of investor confidence in the market for the stocks of other companies which investors perceive to be similar to the Company could depress our share price regardless of our business, prospects, financial conditions or results of operations. A decline in the market price of our securities also could adversely affect our ability to issue additional securities and our ability to obtain additional financing in the future.

In the past, securities class action litigation has often been initiated against companies following periods of volatility in their stock price. This type of litigation could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention and resources and could also require us to make substantial payments to satisfy judgments or to settle litigation.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about BIOX, its business, or its market, or if they change their recommendations regarding BIOX ordinary shares adversely, then the price and trading volume of BIOX ordinary shares could decline.

The trading market for BIOX ordinary shares will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts may publish about us, our business, our market, or our competitors. Securities and industry analysts do not currently, and may never, publish research on us. If no securities or industry analysts commence coverage of BIOX, BIOX’s share price and trading volume would likely be negatively impacted. If any of the analysts who may cover BIOX change their recommendation regarding BIOX’s shares adversely, or provide more favorable relative recommendations about BIOX’s competitors, the price of BIOX ordinary shares would likely decline. If any analyst who may cover the Company were to cease coverage of the Company or fail to regularly publish reports on it, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause our ordinary share price or trading volume to decline.

Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. Federal courts may be limited.

The Company is an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands and a majority of our officers and directors are residents of jurisdictions outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or executive officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or officers.

Our corporate affairs are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (the “Articles”), the Cayman Islands Companies Law (2020 Revision) (as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time) or the common law of the Cayman Islands. We are also subject to the federal securities laws of the United States. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to the Company under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States, and certain states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders derivative action in a Federal court of the United States.

We have been advised by our Cayman Islands legal counsel that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, and or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.

As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a United States company.

We are an “emerging growth company” and it cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our ordinary shares less attractive to investors.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act, and we will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of UAC’s IPO, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least US$1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our outstanding shares that are held by non-affiliates exceeds US$700 million as of the prior June 30, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than US$1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three year period. As an emerging growth company, we are not required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, we have reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and we are exempt from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. Additionally, as an emerging growth company, we have elected to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until those standards apply to private companies. As such, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with public company effective dates. We cannot predict if investors will find our securities less attractive because we may rely on these provisions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and our share price may be more volatile.

As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from certain disclosure requirements under the Exchange Act, which may afford less protection to our shareholders than they would enjoy if we were a domestic U.S. company.

As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from, among other things, the rules prescribing the furnishing and content of proxy statements under the Exchange Act. In addition, our executive officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act. We are also not required under the Exchange Act to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as domestic U.S. companies with securities registered under the Exchange Act. As a result, our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they would under the Exchange Act rules applicable to domestic U.S. companies.

We do not intend to pay any dividends on our ordinary shares at this time.

We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date. The payment of cash dividends on our ordinary shares in the future will be dependent upon our future operations and earnings, capital requirements and surplus, general financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors that our Board of Directors and shareholders may deem relevant. Our Board of Directors intends to retain the gain for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 and not distribute dividends due to certain financial commitments. Our Board of Directors does not anticipate declaring any dividends on our ordinary shares in the foreseeable future. As a result, any gain you will realize on our ordinary shares will result solely from the appreciation of such shares.

We may issue additional securities in the future, which may result in dilution to our shareholders.

We are not restricted from issuing additional ordinary shares or securities convertible into or exchangeable for ordinary shares. Because we may need to raise additional capital in the future to operate and/or expand our business, we may conduct additional equity offerings. To the extent our outstanding options are exercised, or we conduct additional equity offerings, additional ordinary shares will be issued, which may result in dilution to our shareholders. Sales of substantial numbers of such shares in the public market could adversely affect the market price of our ordinary shares.