The Government temporarily lifted a ban on wheat imports, which was in place since late 2015 to protect producers from cheaper imports. The reversal of the ban is intended to boost national supplies and to constrain potential price rises. Production of wheat, which is grown in the winter season and harvested from October, is forecast to rise in 2017, due to a combination of improved water availabilities and a more stable electricity supply (the crop is grown mostly under irrigation conditions), following the replenishment of water levels in the Kariba dam water levels, the country’s major hydropower plant. Import restrictions are set to be put back in place later this year with the new harvest.