The import duty on wheat, which was scheduled to end on 31 March, has been extended until 30 June 2016. The Government had initially imposed a 10 percent duty on imports in August 2015 and increased it to 25 percent in October. Despite concerns over the impact of the prolonged dry weather on the 2016 wheat crop, the decision was taken in view of the still high government-held wheat stocks and in an effort to protect the domestic wheat market and encourage consumption of domestically-produced wheat. In general, the country does not depend on imports to meet its consumption needs, however, in 2015/16 marketing year (April/March) imports increased sharply in response to high demand for quality wheat after heavy rains affected the 2015 domestic wheat crop.