India, the world’s second-largest Wheat grower and consumer, is set to harvest its 2017-18 crop later this month, making the first major Wheat-growing country to harvest the 2017-18 crop.
As per the records of United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA), the Ministry of Agriculture pegs the upcoming harvest at 96.64 million tons, which would be an all-time high for the country. India’s last two Wheat crops were plagued with difficult weather, reducing the total output to near 87 million tons in each year, according to USDA.
This year, India will import the largest volume of the grain in a decade. The country has imported over five million tons since July 1, and the majority has originated in either Ukraine or Australia. The country is projected to import an additional 1.8 million tons of Wheat to reach 5.5 million tons of imports, the highest since 2006.
Seeing an ample Indian Wheat crop in the next marketing year, Indian officials this month may impose a 25% import tax on Wheat, which was lowered to 10% from 25% in September 2016 and then scrapped on December 8 last year. The move would serve to curb imports and protect local farmers from a crash in local prices.