INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Agricultural leaders from Taiwan were in Indiana on Monday to announce a $2.2 billion purchase of Indiana corn and soybeans over the next two years.

“Thank you for your investment in Indiana and in the lives of our farmers here in our state,” Indiana Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch said Monday.

Taiwan’s agricultural delegation, consists of the Taiwan Feed Industry Association and the Taiwan Vegetable Oil Manufacturers Association.

The Taiwan Feed Industry Association agreed to buy roughly 197 million bushels of corn and 500,000 metric tons of corn co-products including distillers dried grains with soluables.

The Taiwan Vegetable Oil Manufacturers Association agreed to buy roughly 96-97 million bushels of soybeans.

The agreement comes as the U.S. trade war with China continues to impact Indiana farmers. U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows the volume of exports of soybeans are down 24% from 2018 to 2019.

“The trade war has been very, very serious for Indiana farmers, as well as American agriculture,” said Jane Ade Stevens, CEO of the Indiana Soybean Alliance and the Indiana Corn Marketing Council.

Stevens said the agreement is very reassuring.

“It’s very, very important for us to have this trading partner. Trade is the lifeblood for U.S. grain, corn and soybean farmers,” Stevens said Monday. “It’s absolutely critical.”

Junne-Jih Chen, Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture deputy minister, said the delegation has come to the U.S. every two years since 2008 to buy high-quality American agricultural products. He says there’s a need for soybeans among Taiwanese people.

“In the morning, they drink soy milk. Everyone, everybody in Taiwan,” said Chen. “This soy milk [is] made from U.S. soybeans.”

Crouch, a Republican, said this is more than just a trade deal: “The deep cultural bond that ties us together. The Indiana-Taiwan relationship is built of mutual respect, shared values, economic success and, perhaps most important, our relationships.”

The Indiana Corn Marketing Council and the Indiana Soybean Alliance said it’s up to the private companies that are part of the Taiwan delegation to decide when they start to receive the shipments of corn and soybeans.