Kansas officials expect to sign an agreement

with a Taiwanese trade delegation for the purchase of $425 million

worth of the state’s wheat.

Gov. Mark Parkinson planned to have a signing ceremony Friday

with an eight-member delegation of government and business leaders

from Taiwan. The event is to be in the Kansas Senate chamber.

The agreement is to purchase the hard red winter wheat in 2010

and 2011. It’s the first such agreement between Kansas and Taiwan

dealing with wheat since 2003.

The Kansas Department of Commerce said that last year, Kansas

exported more than $1.2 billion worth of wheat, corn and sorghum.