Wheat Import Duty

The government is considering bringing back import duty on wheat to protect farmers' interest after a bumper domestic crop, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said today.

Right now, the arrival of new wheat crop has begun in Madhya Pradesh. The crop is yet to arrive in other growing states, Agriculture Secretary Shobhana K Pattanayak said.

Information & Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today faced the Opposition ire when he got up to rebut their criticism of the government for allowing duty free import of wheat at the time of bumper crop.

India, the world's second-biggest wheat producer, lowered the import tax on the grain to 10 percent from 25 percent in September 2016 and scrapped the duty on December 8 last year.

The Centre's decision to remove import duty on wheat today came under attack from the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) which asked the government to withdraw the move and instead hike the tax to 40 per cent.

Meeting Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders amid acrimony in Parliament over the notes ban, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly said today: "We should always meet like this."

38-year-old farmer Deenu Yadav, who lives some 40 kms from state capital Bhopal, is uncertain whether the wheat crop he's growing will fetch him good price now that the centre has scrapped import duty on the grain. The government says the decision was taken to reduce domestic prices and denies there's a shortage.

Angry Opposition protests over government's move to slash import duty on wheat to zero allegedly to benefit multinational firms forced adjournment of the proceedings of Rajya Sabha till afternoon today.

The Union Food Ministry has strongly favoured the slashing of duty on wheat imports to at least 15 per cent from the existing 25 per cent in order to boost domestic availability of the food grain.

Government has extended a 25 per cent tax on wheat imports, the food minister said on Friday, to help curb cheap shipments into the country in a surplus year.

Wheat output is likely to fall short of the official target of 94 million tonnes as a second year of drought and unseasonal rains hits yields.

The government has raised import duty on wheat to 25 per cent till March next year to restrict overseas purchases in the wake of falling global prices.

The government has raised import duty on wheat to 25 per cent from 15 per cent, an official statement said on Monday, to curb cheaper imports from Australia and France.

Wheat production in India, the world's second-biggestgrower, is estimated to have declined to 88.94 million tonnesin the 2014-15 crop year, as against the record production of95.85 million tonnes in 2013-14.

The Centre may raise import duty on wheat to 25 per cent from the current 10 per cent to restrict overseas purchases when domestic stocks are surplus.

The government is considering bringing back import duty on wheat to protect farmers' interest after a bumper domestic crop, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said today.

Right now, the arrival of new wheat crop has begun in Madhya Pradesh. The crop is yet to arrive in other growing states, Agriculture Secretary Shobhana K Pattanayak said.

Information & Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today faced the Opposition ire when he got up to rebut their criticism of the government for allowing duty free import of wheat at the time of bumper crop.

India, the world's second-biggest wheat producer, lowered the import tax on the grain to 10 percent from 25 percent in September 2016 and scrapped the duty on December 8 last year.

The Centre's decision to remove import duty on wheat today came under attack from the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) which asked the government to withdraw the move and instead hike the tax to 40 per cent.

Meeting Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders amid acrimony in Parliament over the notes ban, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly said today: "We should always meet like this."

38-year-old farmer Deenu Yadav, who lives some 40 kms from state capital Bhopal, is uncertain whether the wheat crop he's growing will fetch him good price now that the centre has scrapped import duty on the grain. The government says the decision was taken to reduce domestic prices and denies there's a shortage.

Angry Opposition protests over government's move to slash import duty on wheat to zero allegedly to benefit multinational firms forced adjournment of the proceedings of Rajya Sabha till afternoon today.

The Union Food Ministry has strongly favoured the slashing of duty on wheat imports to at least 15 per cent from the existing 25 per cent in order to boost domestic availability of the food grain.

Government has extended a 25 per cent tax on wheat imports, the food minister said on Friday, to help curb cheap shipments into the country in a surplus year.

Wheat output is likely to fall short of the official target of 94 million tonnes as a second year of drought and unseasonal rains hits yields.

The government has raised import duty on wheat to 25 per cent till March next year to restrict overseas purchases in the wake of falling global prices.

The government has raised import duty on wheat to 25 per cent from 15 per cent, an official statement said on Monday, to curb cheaper imports from Australia and France.

Wheat production in India, the world's second-biggestgrower, is estimated to have declined to 88.94 million tonnesin the 2014-15 crop year, as against the record production of95.85 million tonnes in 2013-14.

The Centre may raise import duty on wheat to 25 per cent from the current 10 per cent to restrict overseas purchases when domestic stocks are surplus.