(JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.)--Officials from Taiwan met with Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon and representatives of the agricultural industry today to sign a Letter of Intent as part of an Agriculture Goodwill Trade Mission.

Participants in the trade mission, which kicked off in Washington, D.C., last week, met with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to solidify current working relationships and pledge additional purchases of U.S. agricultural products.  While in Missouri, the delegation signed a Letter of Intent to purchase 303 to 413 million bushels of U.S. corn and up to 750,000 metric tons of corn co-products at a value of $1.69 to $2.37 billion.  The Taiwanese delegation also signed Letters of Intent in Iowa, Indiana and Illinois.

“We are pleased to host the Taiwanese trade delegation,” said Mike Geske, a corn producer from Matthews, Mo., who serves on the National Corn Growers Association Corn Board and is the past Missouri Corn Growers Association (MCGA) president.  “Taiwan is a longstanding customer of Missouri corn farmers, providing a strong market for our products.  We welcome the opportunity to convey our appreciation to this delegation for their renewed commitment and steady faithfulness to our state’s quality agricultural commodities.”

This is the delegation’s seventh visit to the U.S.  The trade missions are designed to ensure a strong communication and trade link between Missouri (U.S.) and Taiwan.  Additionally these partnerships work to enlighten representatives on the different cultures within each country and enable the agriculture industry to highlight new biotechnology at work from lab to field.

According to the Letter of Intent, Taiwan is the seventh largest export market for U.S. agricultural products, generating in excess of $3.5 billion of trade revenue for U.S. farmers in 2008.

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Photo Cutline:  From left to right (clockwise):  Han-Yeh Wang, Taiwan Vegetable Oil Manufacturers; Mike Geske, National Corn Growers Association; Yau-Kuen Hung, Taiwan Feed Industry Association; Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon; Dr. Paul M.H. Sun, Head of Agriculture Goodwill Trade Mission; Jacqeline H. Liu, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office-Kansas City; and Stephen Censky, American Soybean Association, meet in Gov. Nixon's office to sign a Letter of Intent indicating Taiwan's purchase of Missouri grain commodities in 2010 and 2011.

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