Pakistanis waste food worth $4 billion annually and the government is planning to start a campaign to reduce wastage at household and commercial levels, sources informed ProPakistani.
In a written reply to the National Assembly earlier today, Ministry for National Food Security and Research said at the moment there is no such study carried out to determine the annual wastage and loss of food.
In 2021, the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) informed that annual wastage/losses of food are 19.6 million tons which is almost 26 percent of the total food production in the country. This aggregates to nearly $4 billion, the ministry informed in its written reply to the National Assembly.
The food ministry explained that food waste refers to food spoiled resulting from decisions and actions by retailers, food service providers, and consumers.
Food is wasted in many ways:
Fresh produce that deviates from what is considered optimal. for example in terms of shape, size, and color, is often removed from the supply chain during sorting operations. Foods that are close to, at, or beyond the “best before” date are often discarded by retailers and consumers.
The ministry said large quantities of wholesome edible food are often unused or leftover and discarded from household kitchens and eating establishments.
The ministry added that as food wastage is an individual-level act, mostly, therefore awareness campaign for the general masses is more effective to reduce food wastage at household and commercial eating establishments and the government is planning to start such a campaign.
