India may import 1.5 million tonnes (MT) of wheat in the marketing year 2018-19. As per data compiled by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the country had imported 5.9 MT and 2 MT in 2016-17 and 2017-18 respectively.
As per a new report prepared by USDA, despite lower planting, the government’s preliminary estimate (2nd Advance Estimate released on February 28, 2018) forecasts 2018 wheat production optimistically at a near-record 97 MT; they expect a further increase in yield over last year’s record yield despite adverse planting conditions.
Last year in November, the government hiked the import duty of wheat to 20% from existing 10%. This step has been taken in order to discourage imports as the prospects of a good output looked up.