Taiwan Agricultural Trade Goodwill Mission Visits Iowa

On September, 12th Iowa Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds, the Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and Iowa Economic Development Authority hosted members of the Taiwan Agricultural Trade Goodwill Mission visiting Iowa to sign letters of intent for the purchase of soy and corn products. Members of all organizations are pictured during the event at the State Capitol.

The Taiwan Agricultural Trade Goodwill Mission is formed every two years to demonstrate Taiwan’s continued willingness to purchase U.S. grains. The ninth mission in September 2013 will represent importers from the Republic of China (Taiwan) with plans to sign letters of intent for the purchase of 351.5 million to 358.5 million bushels of U.S. grains over the course of 2014 and 2015. The total value of purchases is expected to reach $3.81 billion to  $4 billion. In addition to Iowa, the delegation will be visiting Washington, DC, Minnesota, Michigan, North Dakota, Montana and Idaho.

The U.S. has long been Taiwan’s most important supplier of agricultural products. In 2012, 23 percent of Taiwan’s total agricultural imports came from the U.S. Since 1993, Taiwan has been the seventh-largest overseas market for U.S. agricultural exports. In 2012, Taiwan imported nearly $3.32 billion of U.S. agricultural products, making Taiwan one of the world’s largest consumers of U.S. agricultural products on a per capita basis.