• Editor’s Note: This article was updated Thursday, Sept. 26, to include information provided by Kane County Farm Bureau President Joe White.

Taiwan has made a $2.2 billion commitment to purchase Illinois corn and soybeans over the next two years, news that the Kane County Farm Bureau says is generally good for farmers here.

According to a state of Illinois news release, Illinois and Taiwanese associations signed two $1.1 billion agreements to purchase Illinois crops between 2020 and 2021.

Gov. JB Pritzker said the deal is a testament to Illinois corn and soybean producers, who have cultivated a world-class industry with customers in all parts of the world,.

“When Illinois’ agricultural economy thrives, so do working families all across the state,” he said.

Kane County Farm Bureau President Joe White says the Taiwanese purchase represents about 13% of soybean production.

“Trade is important, as anyone in Illinois knows,” White said. “It was a significant purchase, so it helps.”

Whether that purchase will have a big impact on wholesale prices, however, remains to be seen.

White explained that farmers sell their grain through the container market. He sells his, for example, at a supercenter in Joliet. Due to the heavy spring rains that wiped out about 3% or more of local growing area, and reduced plantings mean less business for grain elevators.

For the container market to break even, owners have to offer a lower price than what’s listed at the Chicago Board of Trade.

“If I haul my soy to Joliet, I’ll get 17 cents under (the price listed at) the Chicago Board of Trade,” White said.

While the Taiwanese purchase of corn and soybeans isn’t a panacea, White said it could take away a least some of the sting and reduce the gap between the CBOT price and the container market price.

“It should help our basis,” he said.

The Illinois Corn Marketing Board and the Taiwan Feed Industry Association signed a letter of intent marking Taiwan’s intentions to buy 5 million metric tons — the equivalent to 197 million bushels — of corn and 0.5 million megatons of corn co-products, including distiller’s dried grains with solubles.

The Taiwan Vegetable Oil Manufacturers Association and the Illinois Soybean Association signed a letter of intent marking Taiwan’s intentions to buy between 2.6 million and 2.9 million MT of soybeans.

The TVOM has also committed to buying soybeans from Indiana and Mississippi.

Illinois Director of Agriculture John Sullivan, Illinois Soybean Association Chairman Doug Schroeder, Illinois Corn Marketing Board Chairman Roger Sy and a Taiwan trade delegation also celebrated the investment.

“It’s no secret that 2019 has been a hard year for Illinois farmers with a tough growing season and trade uncertainty,” said John Sullivan, Director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture. “It’s good to know we have trade partners like the Taiwan Vegetable Oil Manufactures Association and the Taiwan Feed Industry Association who help provide some certainty when we need it most.”

“We value the longstanding trade relationship we’ve established with Taiwan,” said Doug Schroeder, a Mahomet, soybean farmer and chairman of the Illinois Soybean Association, which represents the state’s 43,000 soybean growers.

“We recognize the critical importance of their trade agreement, underscoring their role in helping to maintain the viability of our soybean crop and our livelihoods. We look forward to strengthening the relationship between our two countries and our soybean industry for years to come.”

“This Taiwanese delegation has invested quite a bit of time in understanding corn farmers and corn farming here in the U.S. and they remain committed to us,” said Roger Sy, a Newman, IL, farmer and chairman of the Illinois Corn Marketing Board. “We remain committed to Taiwan, as well, and look forward to shipping Illinois corn their way.”

Illinois is the top soybean producing state and second largest producer of corn in the nation, exporting more than 360 million bushels of whole soybeans annually and an average of 877 million bushels of corn.

Taiwan is Illinois’ third largest trading partner of agricultural products.

SOURCE: state of Illinois news release