P.M. BRIEFING : China Buys Discount U.S. Wheat

WASHINGTON —  China today bought more than $43-million worth of U.S. wheat, its second major subsidized purchase in two days.

The Agriculture Department announced the sale of 449,370 metric tons of winter wheat to China through the U.S. export subsidy program. It came one day after China bought 299,750 tons of wheat, also at discount prices.

China is one of the world’s top customers for U.S. wheat, buying 5.5 million tons in the 1989-90 marketing year--half of its import total--and 3.2 million tons so far this year, which opened June 1. There are 36.7 bushels of wheat in a metric ton.

The Chinese purchases this week, worth more than $72 million based on Chicago prices, marked a welcome week of activity for lagging export sales. The Soviet Union bought 350,000 tons of corn, its first corn purchase since last May 15, and several smaller grain sales also were reported.