DES MOINES — Representative Dan Kelley was joined by Roger Zylstra, director of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board and Jasper County farmer, to welcome Calvin C.H. Ho, Director of General Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in Chicago at the State Capitol to recognize the 10th Taiwan Agriculture Trade Goodwill Mission.
“The agreements signed today will further strengthen Iowa’s economy. The products grown by Iowa’s farmers are in demand all over the world,” said Kelley, who serves on the International Relations Committee and Agriculture Committee in the Iowa House. “In addition, we must do all we can to combat hunger issues at home and abroad.”
The Taiwan Agricultural Trade Goodwill Mission is formed every two years to demonstrate Taiwan’s continued willingness to purchase U.S. grains. A letter of intent was signed for the purchase of $355.5 million to $366.5 million bushels of U.S. grain over the course of two years with a total value of about $2.29 billion.
The U.S. has long been Taiwan’s most important supplier of agricultural products. In 2014, 24 percent of Taiwan’s total agricultural imports came from the U.S.