Seeing is Believing: Tour of Indiana Reinforces Business Ties For Taiwanese Buyers

By: Kimberly Atkins, U.S. Grains Council Director of Global Programs

Taiwan is an important export market for U.S. coarse grains and their value-added products like distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS). U.S. market share in the country has declined in recent years due to competition from South America but recovered sharply during the 2013/2014 marketing year. A top priority for the U.S. Grains Council in 2015 is sustaining demand and high U.S. market share in this vital market.

Last week, the Council escorted eight representatives from the Taiwanese feed industry throughout the United States to meet grain industry representatives and see first-hand the quality of the 2014 corn crop.

The team’s members were among the more than 200 international participants that attended Export Exchange 2014, a meeting held every other year to allow overseas buyers and U.S. grain sellers to meet in person and build critical business relationships.

The trade team traveled to Indiana following Export Exchange to further enhance their understanding of the U.S. production system, corn quality and supply availability.

The team kicked off their time in the Hoosier state by meeting with key government officials including Lieutenant Governor Sue Ellspermann and Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director Ted McKinney to discuss the state’s corn production and agriculture, including specific concerns about corn quality. This meeting served a dual purpose, as it built upon relationships that were developed during Ellspermann’s travel to Taiwan earlier this year.

The team was fortunate to also have the opportunity to visit two different farms while in Indiana. These visits highlighted the U.S. crop quality and showcased investments made in technology by U.S. producers over the past several years that allow them to be more efficient and produce higher quality crops.

In addition to the farm visits, the team had meetings and tours at an ethanol plant, a transloading facility and a local elevator.

Seeing is believing, and the hands-on experience the Taiwanese buyers received during Export Exchange and their tour of Indiana provided them with many opportunities to ask questions and strengthen ties with U.S. contacts.

Click here to see a story from Brownfield Ag News on the Taiwanese visit to Indiana.