KIEV, Nov. 16 – Japan, the world's largest maize importer, has made its largest purchase of European-produced maize as an alternative to U.S. supplies, having bought a large batch in Ukraine, according to Bloomberg.

Nobuyuki Chino, the president of Continental Rice Corp. in Tokyo, told Bloomberg that after Ukraine lifted its duty on wheat and maize exports, five Japanese grain traders bought about 800,000 tons of maize at a price which was about $20 per ton lower than the price of U.S. maize.