09/23/05 Expanding wheat sales to Taiwan

The Idaho Wheat Commission and the Taiwan Flour Mills Association have a signed agreement that will provide a continuing export market for this state's grain growers. Taiwan will buy more than 62 million bushels of American wheat over the next two years, a deal that's worth 372 million dollars. The Taiwanese have been in Idaho for several days, touring farms and talking with some of the same producers who accompanied Governor Dirk Kempthorne to Taiwan on his trade mission earlier this year. Hsin-Hong Kuo is the director of the milling association which buys all of the nation's wheat. HSIN-HONG "Taiwan is the fourth largest trading partner of Idaho state. In the year 2004 the total product that Taiwan imported from Idaho state the total is 320 million US dollars." He says the Taiwanese buy 90 percent of their wheat from the US and they prize Idaho soft white wheat. Idaho Wheat Commission chairman Jim McDonald says Australia sells Taiwan the other ten percent. MCDONALD "So the challenge for us as producers is to be able to produce that other ten percent that Taiwan needs. It's in the name of hard white wheat which we are developing here in Idaho and in the United States." Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott