In exporting countries of the subregion, domestic prices of rice generally strengthened in March, with the notable exception of Thailand, where the release of Government stocks and the slow pace of exports pressured prices downwards and kept them lower than a year earlier. In Viet Nam, rice prices rose slightly in March, as the bulk of the recently-started main winter/spring harvest has not yet entered the market following some delays due to heavy rains in December last year. Prices, however, remained lower than the corresponding month last year. In Cambodia, prices firmed in March ahead of the new harvest, which is about to begin, and were higher than a year earlier. In Myanmar, strong exports, sustained by a weaker currency, supported rice prices in March which remained, however, well below their year-earlier levels. In India, domestic prices of rice remained overall stable in March after increasing in the previous months, mainly reflecting a slow pace of export sales. In Bangladesh, rice prices strengthened further in March following seasonal trends and were more than 20 percent higher than a year earlier due to low imports and reduced 2016 boro and aus outputs. In Sri Lanka, rice prices declined sharply in March with the beginning of the new 2017 main maha harvest, imports and other Government measures. Prices remained, however, nearly 20 percent higher than a year earlier due to the reduced 2016 secondary season output and unfavourable prospects for the 2017 maha crop. Rice prices eased somewhat in China, the Philippines and Indonesia, reflecting adequate supplies from the recent harvests. Prices of wheat grain and wheat flour showed mixed trends across the subregion. In India, prices of wheat declined in most markets with the 2017 recently-started harvest, which is expected at a record level and prompted the Government to reimpose an import duty on wheat (FPMA Food Policies). Prices declined also in Bangladesh following increased imports, particularly by the private sector. By contrast, in Afghanistan, prices of mostly imported wheat flour rose slightly mainly due to reduced imports from Pakistan after the borders were temporary closed. Prices remained relatively stable in Pakistan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and China.