Krishi VaartaOutlook Agriculture
Government Increases Wheat Import Duty by 10%
New Delhi: The government has increased the import duty on wheat from 30% to 40% in a bid to boost offtake of domestically produced grain. The decision, which was announced on Friday, comes in the backdrop of the government's decision to sell wheat in the open market to unload excess grain from India's Food Corporation storage units and state agencies.
Higher duty has made imports of wheat, especially cheaper grains from Russia, unviable for flourmills, according to a senior official. When mills buy more from overseas, it pushes down the price farmers get for their produce. The government intends to sell 10 million tonnes of wheat and 2 million tonnes of rice on the open market.
Due to the consecutive bumper production of food grains, over-supply in the internal market has put wheat prices under pressure in the country. India is expected to generate 99.12 million tonnes of grain this year. In March 2017, the government first enforced 10% import duty on wheat. It doubled it to 20%in November of the same year and then raised it to 30% in May 2018 to restrict imports.
Source: Outlook Agriculture, Apr 27, 2019
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