Taiwanese trade officials signed letters of intent to purchase billions of dollars of agricultural products from farmers in Minnesota and other Midwestern states over the next two years.

The Taiwanese delegation plans to purchase up to $2.49 billion of American corn and soybeans in 2016 and 2017.

Taiwan is Minnesota's sixth-largest export market, and a key trading partner for the state's corn and soybean growers.

Billion dollar deal. A Taiwan trade delegation visited the farm of Roger Toquam near Blooming Prairie. The group is pictured here in front of Toquam's corn field. The Toquam family in the back row on the right.

The Taiwanese delegation, led by Cheng-Taung Wang, deputy minister of the Taiwan Council of Agriculture, plans to purchase 197 million bushels of U.S. corn and 500,000 metric tons of dried distillers grains, valued at an estimated $1.23 billion. The deal also includes the purchase of between 96 million and 107 million bushels of U.S. soybeans valued at an estimated $1.26 billion.

"The U.S. remains one of Taiwan's largest trade partners for agricultural products, regularly supplying one-fourth of the Island's total food import needs," said Cheng-Taung Wang. "This visit will help to further strengthen our bilateral trade relations."

On Sunday, Roger Toquam hosted the trade group on his fourth generation corn, soybean and hog family farm near Blooming Prairie. The visit was an opportunity to help the Taiwanese develop a better understanding of Minnesota agriculture and the care Minnesota farmers take in growing food, feed, fiber and fuel for an increasing world population.

"It was a great group with a lot of questions," Toquam said. "It's a good thing to have groups like this on Minnesota farms."

The Taiwan delegation was the third foreign trade team hosted by the Minnesota Corn Growers Association in September. A Middle Eastern and Northern Africa team visited a farm in Western Minnesota on Sept. 12 and a distillers dried grains team from China met with MCGA staff at the University of Minnesota on Sept. 14.