Reducing Postharvest Losses

In the OIC Member Countries

There are losses during harvesting, transportation, storage, milling, distribution of wheat and

flour, baking, and consumption of bread. Theft is also a factor, as is the low quality of the

subsidised bread which leads to higher consumer wastage of it. The subsidised flour is also

sold on the black-market to beef and dairy producers, leftover bread is also collected and sold

by the kilo to livestock farmers to use as feed. A study referred to (but not cited) in Mansour &

Iglesias, 2011, suggested that 13-15% of the total wheat consumed in Egypt was lost during

the harvesting to baking stages.

The Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry (MFTI) tries to maintain a 5-6 months’ supply of

strategic wheat stocks. However, storage capacity is limited and as a result the stock figure

includes wheat import purchases which are still in the pipeline (e.g. on-board vessels, and

recently tendered) and may account for ~2-3 months of the annual consumption amounts.

Wheat storage capacity is ~5.2 million metric tons (MMT) (Whalley, 2016). Wheat imported by

the private sector moves directly from port storage to the mills. Public mills have 700,000 tons

storage capacity, and the private sector ~1 MMT, the Egyptian Holding Company for Silos and

Storage has 1.5 MMT (some inland and some port-based), including 25 newly constructed

silos. The Principal Bank for Development and Agricultural Credit has 364

shounas

with a

storage capacity of 2 MMT used for the local harvest.

Over-time the Egyptian wheat import standard specifications have become increasingly

strict

. GASC tender requirements have an option for Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture

inspectors to travel to the exporting country and inspect the wheat before it is shipped to

Egypt, this happens in France and Russia although it is also inspected again on arrival. The

Egyptian MFTI has banned countries from exporting to Egypt where the wheat was found to be

low quality. US Wheat Associates provide trade servicing and quality seminars to Egyptian

millers, wheat buyers and traders.

Over the coming years a gradual decline in the planted area of wheat, rice and corn in Egypt is

expected due to more limited Nile water availability, heat stress and salinity issues, and limited

drought tolerant varietal development (Wally, 2016).

4.1.3.

Causes of Postharvest Losses

Many of the causes of cereal postharvest losses in Egypt commonly occur across the world (e.g.

poor handling techniques, storage pests, weak monitoring, theft etc.). In addition Egypt faces a

number of other less common causes of cereal loss due in part to the various subsidies

associated with the cereal (particularly wheat) supply chains. These loss causing factors are

summarised i

n Table.

The Egyptian Government is heavily involved in the wheat supply chains on a number of

levels:

Producer input and output support – including subsidised fertiliser prices, and

domestic procurement prices at higher than the import parity price

Minimum specifications. = ≤13% moisture content; falling number of 200, impurities ≤0.5%; protein content ≥10-12%;

specific weight ≤ 76kg/ hectolitre; safe to eat and free of unpleasant odours/ tastes; meets international limits on pesticide

residues ≤0.1%, mycotoxins and heavy metals (cadmium and lead ≤0.2%). Defects ≤ 5% of weight; specifically ≤1.5% by

weight of grain admixture; <1% by weight dead insects; < 4% damaged grain by weight; 20 poisonous or harmful seeds/kg;

free of live insects and dead rodents; fumigation is necessary if 2 insects found within 1kg sample; organic materials < 5% of

weight (GASC in FAO, 2015)