Japan is to limit the amount of wheat it imports in the coming year as higher prices push buyers to look for alternatives. The government, which is responsible for wheat imports in Japan, has increased sale prices three times since October 2016 due to higher freight costs, a weaker yen, question marks over the quality of the US HRW crop, and higher Australian noodle wheat prices. As a result, it cut 100,000 mt from its current marketing year forecast to take total imports to 5.8 million mt as higher domestic production and flattening feed wheat demand also cut into Japan’s requirements. Wheat imports for the 2018/19 marketing year are expected to remain flat at 5.8 million mt, while other grains are expected to see stronger demand in the coming marketing year.