$372 million in wheat, $1 billion in corn going to Taiwan

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP)--Taiwan has agreed to buy about $372 million worth of U.S. Wheat in the next two years, North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven said Sept. 14. The island country will also buy up to 10 million tons of U.S. corn, according to a news release from the U.S. Grains Council.

Nearly half of the 62.5 million bushels of Wheat will come from North Dakota and Montana, said Neal Fisher, administrator of the North Dakota Wheat Commission. "The relationship has been going on for over 40 years now," he said. "We're hoping it will continue to grow."

The agreement calls for the Taiwan Flour Mills Association, an organization of more than 20 mills, to buy the wheat. It also pledges North Dakota and Taiwan to maintain and strengthen "permanent friendship and trade relations," Hoeven said.

"The value that Taiwan places on being able to purchase a reliable supply of high-quality Wheat from this region year after year is an example of what can be accomplished and the beneficial relationship that can develop when farmers work with their customers to promote their products," he said.

Fisher said Taiwan is very "quality conscious" and wants clean, high-protein wheat.

Wheat Commission Chairman Harlan Klein said North Dakota farmers appreciate Taiwan's loyalty. "Taiwan buys the equivalent of about 10 percent of our state's spring Wheat crop and they're in the market every year," he said.

A Taiwanese trade delegation signed a similar agreement two years ago, for the same amount of U.S. wheat. A delegation of Taiwan flour millers and government officials is expected to the U.S., in late September, with visits planned in Montana, North Dakota, Idaho and Washington, D.C.

The purchase of up to 10 million tons of corn is valued at up to $1 billion. The corn will be used as a feed grain and as a feedstock for the production of corn-based plastics.