COMCEC Agriculture Outlook 2016
45
Figure 37. Share of Total Food Loss and Waste by Stage in the Value Chain (2009)
Source: World Resources Institute analysis based on FAO, 2011
On the other hand, as indicated in the Figure 37, food waste is a more common and
serious problem in developed countries. Every year, consumers in developed countries waste
almost as much food (222 million tons) as the entire net food production of Sub-Saharan Africa
(230 million tons). 33 The most important reason for food waste at the consumption level in
developed countries is abundance and consumers attitudes. Moreover, in these countries
considerable amount of food is also lost during the production and post-harvest phases even
but this is mainly because of high quality standards of the supermarkets, such as weight, size,
shape and appearance of crops34.
Most of the OIC Member Countries is defined as developing countries and these
countries are predominantly classified in Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa, West and
Central Asia Regions35 . As demonstrated in Figure 38, in these regions overall food losses and
waste occur during the production and handling phases of food chain similar to the trends in
developing countries.
The pattern and size of food losses and waste throughout the food supply chain
remains poorly understood for the vast majority of the OIC member countries. Many
smallholder farmers in these countries live on the margins of food insecurity, and a reduction
in food losses could have an immediate and significant impact on their livelihoods. Considering
the importance of food losses and wastes in the Member Countries, 7th, 8th and 9th Meetings
of the COMCEC Agriculture Working Group will be dedicated to this theme. Therefore, the
analytical studies which will examine the food losses and waste in the member countries and
its impact on food security, will be very useful for raising awareness in the OIC Member
Countries.
33 Ibid
34 Ibid
35 SIK, 2013
10% 9%
2%
5%
28%
14% 15%
2%
7%
7%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Production Handling and
Storage
Processing and
Packaging
Distribution and
Market
Consumption
Percent
Developing Countries Developed Countries