Reducing Postharvest Losses
In the OIC Member Countries
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including a trend towards increased purchasing as opposed to self-production and home
storage of their food. These factors all affect the postharvest food systems and the types of
losses occurring, and opportunities for reducing them. Highlighting the need for studies to
better understand contemporary postharvest food systems and losses and future trends.
The following text summarises some of the relevant literature on cereal postharvest losses
amongst OIC Member Countries on a crop-by-crop basis. Most of the published PHL studies
focus on storage losses, due to them being easier to monitor, estimate and measure and
because the storage stage typically lasts for at least 3 months. The very limited data on food
losses and waste in the Gulf countries, and the lack of related evidence-based strategic plans
and policies was noted at an experts consultation meeting on ‘food losses and waste reduction
in the near east region’ in 2012 (FAO, 2013).
Rice postharvest losses
Rice is a staple food for more than half the world’s people. Globally, the biggest rice producers
are China, India, Indonesia and Pakistan. A regional rice PHL assessment covering 11 projects
across several countries in central and south-eastern Asia in the 1990s, estimated that on
average rice PHL accounted for a weight loss of ~13% of the final crop, with most losses
occurring during milling, storage and drying .
Table 3: Rice total postharvest losses across several countries in central and south-eastern
Asia
Rice
activity
stage
Average
estimated
%weight
loss
Notes
Harvesting 0.89 Harvest timing – over-maturity leads to breakages: 0.8% (Sri Lanka), 2.1%
(Myanmar). Sickle reaping: 0.5-0.7% (Indonesia), 0.43% (China*). Traditional hand-
cutting: 9.3% (Thailand), 1.9% (Myanmar). Mechanised: 1.1-5.2% (Thailand), 2.1-
5.4 (Myanmar), 3.38% (China*). Field stacking and bundling: 0.3-9% (from 2 to 8
days).
Threshing 0.98 *In China, pedal threshing 0.8%, motor threshing 1.52%
Drying 3.10 Paddy drying: 2.2% (Bangladesh), 3.2% (Indonesia), 1.6% (Nepal), 0.5% (Pakistan).
*In China, sun-drying on bamboo (3.35%), on cement (4.10%), with a screen (2.9%).
Storage 3.55 *In China of the 5.46% loss, 2.72% was due to rodents, 1.15% to insects, 1.59% to
moulds
Milling 4.37
Total 12.89
Source: Adapted from Calverley, 1994, Grolleaud, IDRC China study
The proportional losses occurring at the different rice PH stages in the different study
countries are compared below. Together the drying, storage and milling stages account for
>80% of the total PHL (Figure 6).