On 26 April, the Government raised with immediate effect the import duty on wheat to 40 percent from 30 percent (FPMA Food Policies). The measure intends to curb imports and protect farmers from low prices amid large domestic availabilities. Harvesting of the 2019 “rabi” crop is ongoing and the Government's second advance production estimate puts the output at a near-record level of 99.12 million tonnes. In an effort to ensure farmers’ profits, the Government had already increased the Minimum Support Prices for the 2019 “rabi” crops in October last year (FPMA Food Policies). As of 22 April, the quantity of wheat procured in the current 2019/20 marketing year (April/March) was officially reported at more than 5.5 million tonnes with a total target of 35.7 million tonnes.