Reducing Postharvest Losses
In the OIC Member Countries
34
(USD500 million) if they happen at the consumer end of the value chain. One study explored
nutrition losses relating to vitamin A in sweetpotatoes and reported a figure of 70% in stored
chips. This nutrition loss in critical because it is not a weight loss and the only measurable
quality loss is a change in colour. Hence this may not translate into an economic loss through
discounting but the impact on health will be significantly reduced.
2.2.3. Oilseeds and Pulses
Introduction
Global production and consumption of oilseeds and pulses continue to grow as their relative
importance as sources of energy and proteins in the diets most of the world’s population and
as industrial crops continues to grow. Postharvest losses in these subsectors, therefore,
represent critical challenges in, especially developing countries including members of IOC, in
terms of household food and nutrition security, household farm income, sustained growth in
agro-based industry, and capacity to respond to climate change through exploiting alternative
plant-based renewable energy sources. This desk-based review examines the scale of
postharvest losses in oilseeds and pulses. It covers the following:
 The relative importance of oilseeds and pulses.
 Overview of postharvest losses in the subsectors, including evidence from selected
countries.
 Some of the underlying causes of postharvest losses in the subsectors.
 Potential options to reduce postharvest losses in the oilseeds and pulses subsectors.
Global production and consumption of oilseeds and pulses
The bulk of the oil extracted from oilseeds is utilised as food (cooking oil and other processed
food products as well as for manufacturing cosmetics, detergents and oleo-chemical products
(e.g. paints and lubricants). A sizeable and growing proportion is into producing biofuels. For
instance, in Argentina about 64 percent of domestic vegetable oil consumption goes into
producing biodiesel, about 50 percent of which is exported. In the European Union about 40
percent of domestic vegetable oil consumption goes into biodiesel production and into direct
generation of electricity3 . By volume, the dominant oilseeds are soybeans and oil palms.
According to M Boersch (2015), soybeans and oil palm will continue to dominate global oilseed
supply beyond 2025. The US and Brazil dominate soybean production whilst Malaysia and
Indonesia lead in the supply of palm oil. China is by far the lead importer of oilseeds.
Production in the major-producing countries is dominated by commercial farmers whilst
processing is concentrated in large-scale processing facilities. In most developing countries,
especially in Africa, smallholder farmers lead in production whilst significant share of the
processing occurs at small to medium-scale enterprises using basic processing equipment.
Pulses: These are edible legume crops, which are rich in protein, lysine and starch. They
include dry peas, beans, lentils and chick peas which have high levels of dietary fibre and low
glycemic index (and therefore important for people with diabetes). Despite these benefits, it is
reported that consumption of pulses has seen a slow but steady decline in both developed and
developing countries even as consumption of dairy products and meat has increased. Citing
data from FAO, Maredia (2012) notes that it is only in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) that the
contribution of pulses to total protein intake is slightly above 10%. In South East Asia the
contribution is just under 4% whilst in most developed countries the contribution of pulses to
3 Source: OECD/FAO Agricultural Outlook, 2015: Oilseed and oilseed products.