Import duty likely on wheat: Centre

New Delhi: The government is considering imposing import duty on wheat in order to protect farmers amid projections of a record output this year, agriculture secretary Shobhana K. Pattanayak said on Wednesday. On December 8, the government had reduced customs duty on wheat to zero from 10 per cent to boost domestic availability and check retail prices. Now that the country is all set to harvest a record production of 96.64 million tonnes in 2016-17 crop year, there are concerns about prices coming under pressure once the new crop hits the market. “Whether to propose import duty on wheat is in the final stage of consideration,” he said.