Celebrating 50 Years Of Partnership With Taiwan

Last week, the U.S. Grains Council’s (USGC’s) office in Taipei, Taiwan, celebrated its anniversary, marking 50 years of market development and relationship enhancement between Taiwan and the U.S. The office held an anniversary celebration, in which leaders of the Council and Taiwan’s agriculture sector, who have built partnerships over the past 50 years, gathered, recognizing the cooperation and mutual success of the past and pledging sustainable cooperation for mutual development in the future.

“For decades, Taiwan routinely has ended up in our top 10 markets for grains in all forms, corn and more recently, for barley. This consistent and stable demand has provided certainty to American corn and barley growers because we know we can count on Taiwan year after year to be a reliable partner,” said USGC President and CEO Ryan LeGrand in his remarks.

When the Council first opened its Taiwan office in 1973, there were no local contacts, no programs in place and no significant imports from the United States. However, the demand to build a market was there. As of the last half century, the office has been developing services and programs including technical programs, trade servicing and trade policy, which have contributed to the transformation of Taiwan’s agricultural and livestock industries.

As the economy grew in Taiwan, so did the desire for food with more protein, triggering additional feed grain demand. The per capita meat consumption has increased by more than three times, creating a solid foundation for the health of new generations here in Taiwan. From the first director, CM Lynn, the second director, Clover Chang, and the current director, Michael Lu, their work on behalf of the Council has made Taiwan one of the top markets for U.S. grains and co-products.

“Even after 50 years, the office has always maintained enthusiasm and vitality to extend services, particularly in new-to-market products and applications such as the use of U.S. malting barley in local draft beer production, and the new initiative of blending U.S. ethanol into gasoline to help Taiwan meet greenhouse gas emission reduction goals,” Lu said.

The Council looks forward to many more years of working together with its partners in Taiwan to find homes for U.S. grains and co-products.

“It is through this partnership and trust that we’ll be able to work through current issues on grain imports that we may face,” said USGC Chairman Brent Boydston in his remarks. “Thank you for the wonderful work and 50 years of partnership and dedication. Here is to another 50 years.”