India's exports of agricultural commodities declined by 46 per cent in volume terms due to supply glut in the international market which prompted stockists to defer their purchase plans amid expectations of further price fall.

Data compiled by the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) showed India’s Wheat exports slumped to 135,284 tonnes ($35 million) for the period between April and December 2018 from 249,702 tonnes ($72 million) for the corresponding period last year.

Non-basmati Rice exports also fell by 14 per cent by volume and 16.4 per cent in value due to a global supply glut. Basmati Rice, Groundnut exports also posted a decline during the first nine months of the current fiscal.

Experts, however, believe that global sentiment has started reviving towards the end of December 2018 and early January 2019 which may lift India’s overall agri commodity exports in the coming quarters.

FAO in its latest report said that global Food Price Index jumped by 1.8 per cent to average at 164.8 points in January 2019, which is still 2.2 per cent below the corresponding month last year. After three successive months of relatively stable levels, the increase in January was largely driven by a sharp rebound in dairy quotations and firmer Vegetable Oil and Sugar prices.