Iowa Hosts Taiwanese Goodwill Delegation Signing Letters Of Intent To Purchase Iowa Corn

A Taiwanese delegation visited Iowa this week and met with Iowa Corn farmer leaders as part of a Good Will Mission to build relationships between Taiwanese agricultural leaders and U.S. farmers and grain suppliers for future trade. As part of this mission, the delegation took part in a signing ceremony on Thursday with Iowa Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds, ICPB Director Roger Zylstra and the U.S. Grains Council (USGC).  Denny Friest, a farmer leader from Radcliffe, Iowa and District 5 Director on the Iowa Corn Growers Association also attended the signing ceremony.

“By having the Taiwanese Agricultural Goodwill Mission visit our state, we are strengthening trade ties and helping to maintain the well-established partnership between the United States and Taiwan,” Roger Zylstra, ICPB Director for District 5 and a corn farmer from Lynnville, Iowa.

Taiwan is an important buyer of U.S. agricultural products, especially U.S. corn. For the 2014/2015 marketing year, Taiwan was the sixth largest market for U.S. corn and a top buyer of U.S. distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), a co-product of ethanol production that is a high-protein feed ingredient for livestock. The letters signed by the Taiwanese during their trip in both Iowa and in Washington, D.C. committed Taiwanese buyers to purchase approximately $3.03 billion worth of U.S. corn and co-products, wheat and soybeans by 2017.

“Fostering relationships helps reassure the Taiwanese ag leaders of the United States’ ability to be the reliable long-term supplier of high-quality grains and ultimately helps to preserve their preference for U.S. products.” Zylstra said.

For the Taiwan feed industry, low-oil DDGS is a relatively new product. Taiwanese DDGS importers want to know how to adapt to the low-oil DDGS and still maintain their current level of nutrient availability, information that the USGC is working to provide. With almost all the large feed mills in Taiwan using DDGS, it is important to educate these importers and end-users so U.S. DDGS market share can continue to grow in Taiwan.

ICPB is an active member of the USGC, a private, non-profit organization that works to develop exports in more than 50 countries from 10 worldwide offices and its Washington, D.C., headquarters. 

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The Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB), works to develop and defend markets, fund research, and provide education about corn and corn products. The Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA) is a membership organization lobbying on agricultural issues on behalf of its 8,000 farmer members. Both organizations work on the joint mission to create opportunities for long-term Iowa corn grower profitability.