US Wheat industry collaborations reslove Indonesian trade barrier
In June 2025, a trade barrier with the potential to close the wheat market in Indonesia was successfully diffused, thanks to a united effort from U.S. Wheat Associates (USW), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), and the Washington Grain Commission (WGC). A testament to the power of industry-wide collaboration, what began as a technical policy shift in Southeast Asia became a concerted, years-long effort in advocacy and diplomacy, ultimately resulting in a positive return on investment in farmer-funded market development.
A key market, a sudden shift
Indonesia is consistently in the top five importers of soft white (SW) wheat. For decades, U.S. wheat has been prized by Indonesian millers for its consistent performance in cakes, cookies, and instant noodles.
But in October 2023, the Indonesian Quarantine Agency (IQA) implemented a sweeping regulation requiring all wheat imports to be fumigated with significantly higher doses of phosphine — a fumigant used to control pests in stored grain — than is recommended by U.S. authorities.
While the higher dosage was technically allowed under U.S. labels, it exceeded guidelines from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the USDA’s Federal Grain Inspection Service FGIS), and the fumigant’s manufacturers. Worse, scientific evidence indicated this high dosage could reduce fumigation efficacy due to a phenomenon called “phosphine narcosis,” a condition in which insects go dormant before they can absorb enough gas to be killed.
The U.S. wheat industry faced a difficult position. Some exporters were unwilling to comply due to safety and precedent concerns. Others feared that Indonesia’s requirements would create lasting market uncertainty with potentially higher costs. For both U.S. producers and exporters, the stakes were high.
Industry mobilization
In response to the IQA’s new regulation, USW launched a coordinated engagement strategy. The organization leveraged its Southeast Asia regional team and its D.C.-based headquarters to align U.S. technical agencies, trade staff, and exporters around a unified position. The first step was clear: demonstrate, through science, that the new fumigation protocol was not only unnecessary but possibly harmful to Indonesia’s own goals.
APHIS led with a series of technical documents and diplomatic communications. One report detailed global phosphine usage, recommending effective dosage ranges that fell in line with manufacturing standards that were far below those outlined in Indonesia’s new rule. Another refuted a list of pests flagged by the IQA, concluding that none of the species posed credible phytosanitary (plant health) risks due to U.S. production, postharvest cleaning, and storage practices.
This evidence-based effort successfully delayed enforcement of the new fumigation standard through most of 2024, but a more permanent solution required direct, face-to-face diplomacy.
Washington hosts, farmers lead
In December 2024, the WGC hosted a high-level delegation from the IQA for a technical visit across Eastern Washington. The trip was organized in partnership with USW, APHIS, and FAS. Over the course of three days, IQA officials witnessed the U.S. wheat supply chain in motion, from farm fields to federal labs.
The delegation visited a Ritzville farm and elevator to observe how wheat is cleaned, stored, and managed for pest control. They met with Washington State University (WSU) wheat breeder Dr. Arron Carter and plant pathologist Dr. Tim Murray to understand how resistance traits are bred into new varieties. At the USDA Western Wheat Quality Lab, the delegation saw firsthand the extensive testing for end-use quality and contaminants, including mycotoxins.
Just as importantly, the WGC and APHIS provided a transparent briefing on traceability. While U.S. wheat cannot be traced back to individual farms in bulk shipments, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) requires that every link in the chain, from farm to export terminal, can be traced one step forward and one step back. This ensures accountability and traceability at scale, reflecting not only a U.S. but an internationally recognized best practice.
“We appreciate the work of the Washington Grain Commission to support this effort to demonstrate the wheat industry’s production and export handling system. This collaboration highlights the power of the partnership between USW and state commission members in enabling trade,” said Mike Spier, USW president and CEO.
From dialogue to policy change
The impact of the IQA’s visit to Washington was almost immediate. Bolstered by continued discussions with U.S. officials, the IQA formally recommended a change to its import policy. On June 15, 2025, Indonesia officially dropped its requirement for high-rate phosphine fumigation of U.S. wheat. The revised rule restored flexibility and removed a major trade friction point.
The timing was fortuitous. As U.S. wheat prices became more competitive in the second half of the 2024 marketing year, Indonesian millers began increasing purchases. U.S. wheat sales to Indonesia surged in marketing year 2024-25, reaching over 28 million bushels (774,000 metric tons (MT)), up from just over 16 million bushels (437,000 MT) the year before. More significantly for Washington producers, SW sales to Indonesia rose by 44%, highlighting growing demand with over 20 million bushels (554,000 MT) sold. 
Farmers behind the scenes
At the heart of this success is a quiet but powerful force: America’s wheat farmers. USW is funded through a national network of state wheat commissions. Wheat producers contribute a portion of their wheat sales — on average around one-third of a penny per bushel — to their state commission, known as a checkoff or assessment. These funds are pooled to support USW’s market development mission “to develop, maintain, and expand international markets to enhance the profitability of U.S. wheat producers and its value for their customers.”
In return, USW works closely with state wheat commissions like the WGC to bring wheat buyers to the field, support informed dialogue with importing countries, and navigate complex trade issues when they emerge. WGC’s leadership in hosting the IQA was more than logistical, it was an act of strategic storytelling. WGC helped foreign officials connect the dots between U.S. farming practices, science-based regulation, and global market needs.
Why this matters
This is not just a story about fumigation, it’s a story about the role trade servicing plays in keeping doors open for U.S. wheat. Nontariff barriers, such as phytosanitary requirements, traceability demands, or changing maximum pesticide residue limits, are increasingly common. Addressing these issues requires more than a good product, it requires trust, responsiveness, and constant engagement.
By investing in USW through their assessment dollars, wheat farmers are investing in a long game, one where relationships and readiness make the difference between market disruption and market growth.
A win for wheat
The resolution of the Indonesian phosphine fumigation requirement marks a clear win for the U.S. wheat industry and a direct return on farmer investment. This outcome shows that when producers, commissions, and national partners work together, even the most complex regulatory hurdles can be overcome.
Through this effort, U.S. wheat didn’t just preserve access, it earned renewed trust, and that trust will pay dividends long after this season’s crop is in the bin.
As of July 7, 2025, we’re proud to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with APTINDO, marking a major milestone for the Indonesian milling industry and U.S. wheat producers. Under this agreement, APTINDO is committed to doubling its annual purchases of U.S. wheat over the next five years to 1 million metric tons each year.
This article originally appeared in the August/September issue of Wheat Life Magazine.
Jake Liening
Market Development Specialist, Washington Grain Commission