China Buys Most U.S. Corn Since 1994, Edging Toward WTO Quotas

China made its largest purchase of American corn in more than two decades and the second-biggest ever, taking the Asian nation closer to meeting or exceeding import quotas set by the World Trade Organization.

American shippers sold 1.365 million metric tons of U.S. corn to China, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement Friday, which according to agency data would be the biggest daily sale to China since 1994. The announcement comes after Bloomberg reported Chinese authorities issued a new batch of permits that allow imports at lower tariffs.

The purchases put China closer to surpassing a WTO ...