On 31 March, the Government announced the reduction of the wheat import tariff by 25 percent to ZAR 1190.19 (USD 91.59) per tonne. Tariff adjustments are implemented when the benchmark US No.2 Hard Red Winter (HRW) wheat export price deviates from the set base price of USD 193 per tonne by more than USD 10 for three consecutive weeks. In the first two months of the year, the US wheat export price averaged consistently above the base price on account of concerns about the 2017 wheat production outlook due to unfavourable weather. South Africa imports around half of its annual wheat consumption requirements and also exports small quantities to neighbouring countries.