Governor Nixon has signed a joint communiqué with the 2009 Taiwan Agricultural Goodwill Mission, a letter of intent to buy to buy millions of metric tons of corn and soybeans from Missouri and other Midwestern states over the next two years.
Nixon welcomed the 2009 Taiwan Agricultural Goodwill Mission to his Capitol office to discuss trade. The Taiwanese trade mission actually began in Washington, D.C. last week when the trade delegation met with the United States Department of Agriculture to confirm current agreements and pledge additional purchases of grain from the United States.
While in Missouri, the Taiwanese signed a Letter of Intent to purchase between 303 and 413 million bushels of American corn and up to 750,000 metric tons of corn by-products, with an estimated value of between $1.69 and $2.37 billion. The Taiwanese delegation has also signed similar agreements with officials in Iowa, Indiana and Illinois.
Taiwan is a major purchaser of American grain. The Letter of Intent states that Taiwan is the seventh largest export market for U.S. farm products, generating in excess of $3.5 billion of trade revenue for American farmers last year. 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.
Download/listen Gov. Nixon addresses 2009 Taiwan Agricultural Goodwill Mission (10 min MP3)