by Ben Nuelle LISTEN: world-of-agriculture-10-14-16
The Chinese are in town to sign a contract to buy more Iowa soybeans.
A contract signing ceremony will take place Friday at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates in Des Moines. Chinese purchasers have committed to buying $1.8 billion of U.S. soybeans.
Grant Kimberley is Market Development Director of Iowa Soybean Association.
?They don?t necessarily come every year to do these agreements but they do come often and we?ve hosted these kind of ceremonial agreements in the past. Notably one the largest ones we had I think was last year around the World Food Prize and 2012 when Vice President Xi Jinping came.?
He says Chinese purchasers are going to buy a lot of U.S. soybeans over the course of this year.
?These individual purchase agreements may not be the largest in and over themselves that we?ve ever seen but cumulatively they are going to be buying a lot of soybeans over the course of a year.?
Kimberley adds they?re now purchasing almost 33% of all U.S. soybeans.
The contract signing ceremony takes place at 11:30 a.m. Friday at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates in Des Moines.
Governor Terry Branstand, Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds and Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey plan to attend.
