Des Moines, Iowa (RI) — Vietnamese officials visiting Iowa have signed agreements to buy more agricultural products from the Midwest, including Iowa. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says the five agreements represent $800 million worth of soybeans, corn, dried distillers’ grain, and pork.
The agreements, which are non-binding, were signed this past week during a ceremony at the Iowa Capitol. Naig led a trade mission to Vietnam in 2023 and plans to return to the country this fall.
Under one of the agreements, Vietnam is to purchase $400 million worth of soybeans and soybean meal from AGP, a farmer-owned cooperative that has five processing plants in Iowa, including one in Sheldon. Randy Miller, a farmer from Lacona, is on the US Soybean Export Council’s board of directors.
Commodity groups see Vietnam and other Asian countries as opportunities to diversify supply chains, especially with escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China.
(Reporting by Rachel Cramer, Iowa Public Radio)
KIWA Staff Photo
