The 2022 Taiwan (ROC) Agricultural Trade Goodwill Mission: Wheat Delegation attended a letter of intent signing ceremony at the Wheat Marketing Center in Portland, Oregon on September 21, 2022. Witnessed by the deputy director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture Lauren Henderson and TECO in Seattle Director General Daniel Chen, Yi-Cheun (Tony) Shu, Chairman of Taiwan Flour Mills Association, and Dana Tuckness, Chairman of Oregon Wheat Association, signed a letter of intent on behalf of the wheat industries of Taiwan and Oregon respectively, with the former vowing to purchase high quality US wheat valued at $576 million.
The last time the delegation traveled to Oregon can trace back to as early as 15 years ago in 2007. Not only was the group's visit this year highly valued by Oregon governor Kate Brown, but the abovementioned ceremony was also attended by local dignitaries, including deputy secretary of state Cheryl Myers, director of Business Oregon Sophorn Cheang, representatives of US Wheat Associates, Port of Portland, Port of Vancouver, and the Oregon Consular Corps (OCC), showing their support for substantive exchanges and cooperation between Taiwan and the Oregon state in a variety of fields, such as agriculture, culture, economy and trade, etc.
Last year, Taiwan was Oregon's 7th largest trading partner, top importer of Oregon's semi-conductor parts, 4th largest export destination of Oregon's wheat, and, together, sharing one of the fastest growing bilateral trade partnerships globally. Thanks to their complementary qualities in the global market, as well as their common goals towards green energies and carbon neutrality, Taiwan and Oregon are critical partners in a world where global supply chain continues restructuring after COVID-19.
During their stay in Oregon, the Goodwill Mission had constructive discussions with governor Brown and related agencies on mutually interested issues regarding the development of wheat trade and overall bilateral trade outlook; they also visited wheat farms, wheat facilities in the Port of Portland, and the Food Innovation Center, in order to promote agricultural exchanges between Taiwan and Oregon, further trade & economic cooperation, and deepen overall Taiwan-US relationships. (E)
