The decade-long cycle of traditional, experience-based breeding is being dramatically compressed by AI-enabled precision breeding models, fundamentally transforming the logic of domestic seed industry development. Recently, the "AI Design Breeding Technology for Complex Crop Traits," led by the Biotechnology Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, was officially selected as a major leading agricultural technology for 2026 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. This marks the transition of an intelligent breeding decision system, integrating AI with gene editing and synthetic biology, from the laboratory to large-scale field application.
This internationally advanced intelligent breeding technology system can effectively shorten research and development cycles for seed companies while reducing costs, reshaping profit models and industry valuation frameworks. At the intersection of industrial transformation and capital market consensus, the Grain ETF Fuguo (Code: 158038) officially launched today, offering investors an efficient tool to capture the benefits of intelligent seed industry upgrades and food security initiatives in a single allocation.
The Grain ETF Fuguo closely tracks the Guozheng Grain Industry Index (399365.SZ), which selects 50 listed company securities from the Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing stock exchanges. These companies operate across agricultural inputs (seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural machinery), grain cultivation, farmland irrigation, grain and oil processing, and product trading, providing a comprehensive reflection of the overall performance of grain industry listed companies.
In terms of asset purity, this index stands out among grain-themed indices in the market due to its deep connection with the seed industry and crop farming. Wind data shows that the crop farming and agrochemical product segments together account for over 80% of the index's weight (as of August 17, 2026). This structural design allows the index to largely avoid interference from pig cycle fluctuations, providing a more precise and pure reflection of fundamental changes in grain cultivation and agricultural input industries. Whether driven by grain price cycle recovery, seed industry revitalization policy implementation, or the commercialization of genetically modified crops and AI breeding, these factors are directly reflected at the index level, ensuring a clear and transparent investment logic.
From a growth perspective, the index constituents include high-quality leaders across various segments of the grain industry chain. Wind data indicates that as of August 17, 2026, the average total market capitalization of the index is approximately 23.376 billion yuan, displaying a distinct small and mid-cap growth style. Compared with large-cap agricultural blue chips, these segment "hidden champions" focus on core areas such as seed research and development, specialty cultivation, and refined grain and oil processing, holding key technologies and regional competitive advantages. Supported by AI breeding technology iteration, commercial application of biological breeding, and continued food security policy backing, small and mid-cap grain enterprises have significant potential for capacity expansion and technological upgrades, offering considerable valuation and earnings recovery flexibility that can bring diversified growth sources to an investment portfolio.
On valuation, the index has retreated to historically low levels following recent market adjustments, offering a favorable safety margin and cost-performance ratio. Wind data shows that as of August 17, 2026, the Guozheng Grain Industry Index's latest price-to-earnings ratio (PE-TTM) stands at 22.49 times, positioned at the 29.67th percentile of the past decade. For investors focused on medium-to-long-term allocation who wish to share in the benefits of food security strategy, the current timing may represent a relatively ideal entry window.
In terms of performance, grain is a basic necessity with rigid downstream demand and relatively strong earnings stability, demonstrating good defensive qualities and allocation value in volatile market conditions. Looking at a longer time horizon, Wind data shows that as of August 17, 2026, the Guozheng Grain Industry Index's return over the past decade (77.99%) has significantly outperformed the CSI 300 Index (40.56%) and similar agriculture indices (3.11%). With global food security conditions tightening and domestic food security strategy being continuously reinforced, the strategic allocation value of this asset class has become increasingly prominent.
Data source: Wind, performance data as of August 17, 2026. The base date of the Guozheng Grain Industry Index is December 31, 2004. Since its release date (November 4, 2009) to date (August 17, 2026), the cumulative gain is 138.63%. The index's returns for the five most recent complete fiscal years from 2021 to 2025 were -6.14%, -16.50%, -23.85%, -2.54%, and 15.50%, respectively. Historical index performance does not guarantee future results, nor does it predict fund performance. Funds involve risks; investment should be made with caution.
Food security is a matter of national importance, and seed industry revitalization forms the foundation of food security. With the accelerated implementation of frontier technologies such as AI breeding and the continued advancement of biological breeding industrialization policies, the grain industry chain is experiencing dual catalysts from technological change and policy dividends. Facing these new technological transformations and industrial opportunities, ordinary investors often encounter challenges including a lengthy industry chain, numerous sub-sectors, and difficulty in individual stock selection. The official launch of the Grain ETF Fuguo (158038) enables investors to allocate to core assets across the entire grain industry chain through index investing, offering transparency, low fees, and operational convenience, while helping investors avoid individual stock risks and efficiently capture the era dividends from AI breeding innovation and food security strategy.
Risk disclosure: This content is promotional material and does not constitute investment advice. This is a product promotional document; if any changes occur, please refer to the company's latest announcements. Please carefully read the fund contract, fund prospectus, fund product summary and other legal documents and risk disclosure statements. Funds involve risks; investment should be made with caution. This product is issued and managed by Fuguo Fund Management Co., Ltd.; distribution institutions do not bear responsibility for product investment or redemption obligations. Fuguo Fund has rated this fund as R4 risk level, matching investors with C4 and above risk tolerance. Investors are advised to review the fund contract and other documents in detail and make prudent investment decisions based on their own risk tolerance. Product risk ratings and matched investor levels are subject to sales institution assessment results.
The operating fees for the Grain ETF Fuguo are as follows: Management fee: 0.50% per annum; Custody fee: 0.10% per annum. Subscription fee structure: for subscription shares (M) with M less than 1 million shares, the fee rate is 0.30%; for M equal to or greater than 1 million shares, the fee is 1,000 yuan per transaction. Note: The fund manager does not charge subscription fees for offline cash subscription and offline stock subscription. Distribution agencies may charge commissions for online cash subscription, offline cash subscription, and offline stock subscription according to the above fee structure. Subscription fees are used to cover marketing, sales, and other expenses incurred during the fundraising period and are not included in fund assets. When investors subscribe for fund shares, subscription and redemption agents may charge commissions at a rate not exceeding 0.3%, which includes fees charged by stock exchanges and registration institutions. When investors redeem fund shares, subscription and redemption agents may charge commissions at a rate not exceeding 0.5%, which includes fees charged by stock exchanges and registration institutions. Management fees and custody fees will be deducted from fund assets; fees and taxes arising from securities trading and other activities will be deducted from fund assets based on actual amounts incurred.