The Government removed wheat import subsidies under the new budget of 2018 approved in January. Most of the domestically-consumed wheat is imported and since it is a key staple food in the country, particularly in urban areas, the Government had consistently subsidized imports in the past. The major milling companies would import at a preferential exchange rate and then distributed subsidized wheat flour to bakeries, which sold bread at a fixed price. The Government eliminated this mechanism as part of a series of economic reforms in line with the International Monetary Fund indications. This provided further upward pressure to prices of wheat flour and bread, already underpinned by the sharp depreciation of the national currency on the parallel market.