Michael Lu officially started as the director of the U.S. Grains Council’s (USGC’s) office in Taiwan on Aug. 6. He will carry on the critical work of Clover Chang, who retires effective Aug. 10 after 34 years with the Council.
“We are very excited to have Michael join our Asia regional team and follow Clover to further build upon our market presence and strong commitment to our loyal customers in Taiwan,” said U.S. Grains Council President and CEO Tom Sleight.
Lu has 25 years of experience working in agri-food industries, trading, sales and marketing. Prior to joining the Council, Lu worked for Cargill in Taiwan as the assistant general manager in charge of the grains, oilseeds, oils and non-grain feed ingredients business, working with products originated from around the world.
The Council has maintained an office in Taiwan since 1973, helping the market grow to the fifth largest for U.S. corn in the 2016/2017 marketing year, with purchases of nearly three million metric tons (118 million bushels) valued at $511 million, and the fourth largest market for U.S. barley.
Lu will help continue the Council’s mission to protect existing market share while expanding sales for U.S. coarse grains and co-products, including ethanol. Lu has strong relationships and connections with government agencies and grain end-users in Taiwan, including animal feed producers, poultry and hog producers, crushing plants and oil refiners, flour milling and corn milling plants and local traders supplying agri-food ingredients for local markets.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in animal sciences from National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan.
Please join the Council in welcoming Michael!
About The U.S. Grains Council
The U.S. Grains Council develops export markets for U.S. barley, corn, sorghum and related products including distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and ethanol. With full-time presence in 28 locations, the Council operates programs in more than 50 countries and the European Union. The Council believes exports are vital to global economic development and to U.S. agriculture’s profitability. Detailed information about the Council and its programs is online at www.grains.org.