At the Statehouse on Thursday, Gov. Mike Braun joined agriculture leaders and Taiwanese delegates to sign letters of intent to purchase nearly $6.4 billion of Indiana corn and soybeans over the next four years.
The agreements reaffirm Taiwan’s reliance on the U.S. for at least a quarter of its major agricultural imports. Braun said the deal highlights Taiwan’s role as one of Indiana’s most reliable trading partners.
“We're an agricultural powerhouse,” Braun said. “Here is a landmark, in the sense that it's a trade relationship— that we need more of them like this one.”
Agriculture is a cornerstone of Indiana’s economy, with soybeans among its most valuable exports. The letters of intent state that Taiwan will purchase nearly $2.12 billion of corn and corn products and between $3.44 billion and $4.2 billion in soybeans from 2026 to 2029.
Taiwan signed a similar agreement with Indiana in 2019, when former Indiana Soybean Alliance CEO Jane Stevens said having Taiwan as a trading partner was vital for the country’s agriculture.
“Trade is the lifeblood for U.S. grain, corn and soybean farmers; it’s absolutely critical,” Stevens said in 2019. “Our farmers are very, very efficient and they know how to grow a lot of corn and soybeans. And we can’t consume all of them in the United States, so we have to have trading partners.”
On Thursday, Braun was joined by Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, the state secretary of agriculture, who praised Indiana growers for producing high-quality crops and said Taiwan looks forward to continuing the partnership.
“Selling our corn and soybeans around the world keeps Indiana’s farm economy strong,” Beckwith said. “These agreements mean more markets for the crops our farmers work hard to grow, and they show that other countries count on Indiana to deliver quality corn and soybeans year after year.”
“This relationship is going to serve the people of Indiana [and the people of Taiwan] very well for many generations to come.”
The new letters of intent are between the Indiana Corn Marketing Council and the Taiwan Feed Industry Association, and the Indiana Soybean Alliance and the Taiwan Vegetable Oil Manufacturers Association.
Last week, the same Taiwanese agricultural industry groups signed letters of intent to purchase soybeans and corn from Arkansas farmers.
Farrah Anderson is an investigative health reporter with WFYI and Side Effects Public Media. You can follow her on X at @farrahsoa or by email at fanderson@wfyi.org.
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