With U.S. trade negotiations going off on tangents and ignoring the impact on agriculture, individual state soybean organizations continue to work at developing new and reassuring current trading partners.

In Minnesota, Taiwanese trade officials and business leaders on Sept. 27 signed a letter of intent to purchase more than 3 million metric tons of soybeans from farmers in Minnesota and Iowa over the next two years. Attending the ceremony and pictured above were Dave Frederickson, Minnesota Department of Agriculture commissioner (front row, left); Kevin Paap, Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation president; Tom Slunecka, Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council CEO; Yau-Kuen Hung, chairman of the Taiwan Vegetable Oil Manufacturers Association; Gov. Mark Dayton; Eric Huang, director general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago; and Gary Wertish, Minnesota Farmers Union president. Standing on the staircase are members of the Taiwanese Agricultural Trade Goodwill Mission.

The Taiwanese Agricultural Trade Goodwill Mission plans to purchase up to $1.56 billion of Midwest soybeans in 2018 and 2019.

Taiwan is Minnesota’s sixth-largest export market and a key trading partner for the state’s agricultural products.

The signing ceremony took place at the Minnesota governor’s residence and was hosted by Gov. Mark Dayton.

Dayton noted, in a news release, the importance of state farmers selling their products in the global marketplace.

“With the USDA predicting the largest U.S. soybean crop ever, these export opportunities are vitally important,” Dayton said.

Taiwan, a growing consumer of vegetable oils, plans to purchase between 3.2 million and 3.9 million metric tons of soybeans. Soybean oil accounts for more than 50% of the overall vegetable oil market.

The September meeting was the result of an August trade mission to Taiwan by Minnesota agriculture officials, including Minnesota Soybean, and meetings with Yau-Kuen Hung, chairman of the Taiwan Vegetable Oil Manufacturers Association.

Taiwan major ag product market
“Taiwan is a $2 billion-per-year market for ag products, so this a big deal for our farmers,” said Patrick O’Leary, chairman of the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council. “This is the first really good trade news we’ve received in some time, and a large share of the credit goes to our organization for being proactive in securing a trade agreement. Quite honestly, I don’t think you see the Taiwan team signing this declaration in such a timely manner without Minnesota Soybean’s due diligence.”

On the same day in New York at the United Nations General Assembly, Illinois soybean leaders met Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel to discuss soybean exports.

“We have been working on opening doors with Cuba since 2012 and value the opportunities trade with Cuba brings to our Illinois soybean producers,” said Mark Albertson, Illinois Soybean Growers director of strategic market development. “As soybean producers struggle to make ends meet with lower commodity prices and decreased access to key markets, it’s important that we maintain positive relationships with Cuba and other countries who import our soybeans.”

In 2017, the United States exported more than $50 million of soy to Cuba. Canada, Argentina and Brazil each exported roughly the same amount of soy.

Soy exports to Cuba have dropped significantly since 2014, when the United States exported nearly $98 million of whole soybeans and soybean meal to the island nation. Through July 2018, the Global Trade Atlas estimates the value of soybean exports to Cuba at nearly $28 million this year.

Illinois soybean growers have visited Cuba for business meetings and idea exchanges 12 times since 2012. The group has participated at both state and national levels to foster two-way trade between the countries.

Sources: Office of Gov. Mark Dayton, Minnesota Soybean and Illinois Soybean Growers