09.16.15

Hoeven: Letter Signing Ceremony Seals Major Wheat Sale Agreement with Taiwan

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, a member of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, today announced that Taiwan’s miller industry has committed $544 million to purchase U.S. wheat exports over the next two years. The Taiwan Flour Millers Association (TFMA) will import 70,000 tons, or 2.5 million bushels, of U.S. wheat every month to be distributed among all the millers. Representatives of the TFMA and U.S. Wheat Associates signed a letter of intent at the U.S. Capitol today.

As in years past, North Dakota will provide a large share of the purchase, Hoeven said. Taiwan is consistently among the top three export markets for U.S. hard red spring wheat, a predominate class of wheat produced by North Dakota farmers.

Two years ago, the North Dakota Wheat Commission and the Taiwan Agriculture Trade Goodwill Mission signed a letter that committed Taiwan to purchase nearly 62.5 million bushels of US wheat in the next two years. Today’s signing ceremony extends that commitment for another two years as part of the larger agreement with Taiwan.

“Taiwan has been one of our most important and most dependable trading partners for years, and that includes sales of wheat and other agricultural commodities,” said Hoeven, who has worked to promote agriculture sales to Taiwan as governor as well senator. “Today’s commitment represents the most recent of many such commitments that contribute millions of dollars to North Dakota’s agriculture economy.”

In 2004, then Governor Hoeven sent a delegation to Taiwan to expand export opportunities for North Dakota businesses.

Taiwan is a major North Dakota trade partner:

  • From 2013 to 2014, $8.3 million worth of North Dakota products have been exported to Taiwan
  • From 2013 to 2014, there was a 53.9 percent growth in North Dakota exports to Taiwan
  • Agricultural products accounted for 75.8 percent of 2014 North Dakota exports to Taiwan
  • Taiwan is the 4th largest Asian export market for North Dakota

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