Presentación de Nadia Puerta (Departamento Nacional de Planeación -Colombia), en el marco del “Second Regional Dialogue on Prevention and Reduction of Food Losses and Waste”, realizado el 17 y 18 de noviembre de 2016, en Saint George’s, Granada.

1. FOOD LOSS AND WASTE QUANTIFICATION
IN COLOMBIA
Nadia Puerta Cavanzo
Departamento Nacional de Planeación – DNP-
Colombia

2. BACKGROUND
By 2030, halve per capita global food
waste at the retail and consumer levels
and reduce food losses along production
and supply chains, including post-
harvest losses
Target 12,3:

3. BACKGROUND
Source: Encuesta Nacional de Situación Nutricional -ENSIN- (2010)
Prevalence of food insecurity: 43% of households1
2
3
13,3% of population under 5 years of age and 10%
between 5 and 17 years of age are malnourished.
In 2014 a total of 2.147 Colombian children aged
between 0 - 4 years died because of
undernourishment related causes.
Source: ICBF (2011)
Source: DANE (2014)

4. BACKGROUND
Source: FAO y MinSalud (2012) Citado por Ábaco (2016)
Retail waste in supermarkets due to damages and
expiration is 90.000 tons of products.
Source: Fenalco (2015)
1
2
3
Post harvest loss of fruits and vegetables is 39% or
1,4 million tons.
Food waste in Bogotá’s marketplaces is around
30%
Source: SAC (2014)

5. METHODOLOGY AND DATA SOURCES
Food Loss Food Waste
Agricultural
Production
Postharvest handling
and storage
Processing and
packaging
Distribution
Household
consumption

6. METHODOLOGY AND DATA SOURCES
Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology
(SIK) and FAO. “Global Food Losses and
Food Waste” (2011).
Grupo Técnico de Pérdidas y Mermas de
Alimentos de la Cruzada Nacional contra el
hambre. “Índice de Desperdicio de Alimentos
en México” (2013).
 Food Balance Sheets, FAO
 Field work: Guild interviews
 Food Balance Sheets FAO
 Household Income and
Expenditure Survey, DANE
 National Accounts, DIAN
 National Census of Waste in
Retail
 Field work: Guild interviews

7. METHODOLOGY OF FOOD LOSSES
CALCULATION
Total food loss
Domestic supply quantity
% national food loss
Food loss in post-harvest
handling and storage
Food loss in
processing
Food loss in
agricultural production

8. METHODOLOGY OF FOOD LOSSES
CALCULATION
Food produced for
human consumption
Agricultural Production
% loss (proportion of food
lost in agricultural
production)
Food Loss of total
production

9. FIELD WORK: GUILDS INTERVIEWS
Topics covered:
- National production.
- National food processing.
- National human consumption.
- Loss percentages in agricultural production,
post harvesting and processing.
- Causes of food loss in each sector
- Actions in order to prevent food loss and
waste.
- Additional recommendations in order to
reduce food loss.
- International experiences.

10. DATA SOURCES: FOOD LOSS
PERCENTAGES
Loss percentages FAO (2011) for Latin America:
Agricultural
Production
Postharvest
handling and
storage
Processing and
packaging
MILK 4% 6% 2%
FRUITS AND
VEGETABLES
20% 10% 20%
MEAT 5% 1% 5%
ROOTS AND
TUBERS
14% 14% 12%
OILSEEDS AND
PULSES
6% 3% 8%
FISH AND
SEAFOOD
6% 5% 9%
CEREALS 6% 4% 5%
Agricultural
Production
Postharvest
handling and
storage
Processing and
packaging
MILK 4% 4% 2%
FRUITS AND
VEGETABLES
20% 10% 13%
MEAT 5% 1% 3%
ROOTS AND
TUBERS
14% 14% 12%
OILSEEDS AND
PULSES
6% 3% 8%
FISH AND
SEAFOOD
6% 5% 9%
CEREALS 8% 4% 5%
Loss percentages for Colombia (DNP):

11. METHODOLOGY OF FOOD WASTE
CALCULATION
Retail Food
Retail and Distribution
% waste=known operative
decrease of food stock
Food waste in
supermarkets and stalls

12. METHODOLOGY OF FOOD WASTE
CALCULATION
Food waste= weighted
sum of waste of each food
based on their share in the
Colombian diet.
Consumption quantity of
each product
• The Domestic Supply Quantity was calculated based on National Accounts and secondary
sources of information of 2007.
• Information of national imports and exports was complemented using the Statistical System of
International Trade of DIAN.
• Information about the food quantity consumed by Colombian households was taken from the
Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2007.
• Food waste in households was calculated based only on items from the basic food basket,
which consists of 41 items in urban areas, and 39 in rural areas.
Domestic Supply
Quantity= National
production – national
exports + national
imports

13. DATA SOURCES: FOOD LOSS
PERCENTAGES
Waste percentages FAO (2011):
Distribution
Household
consumption
MILK 8% 4%
FRUITS AND
VEGETABLES
12% 10%
MEAT 5% 6%
ROOTS AND TUBERS 3% 4%
OILSEEDS AND PULSES 2% 2%
FISH AND SEAFOOD 10% 4%
CEREALS 4% 10%
Distribution
Household
consumption
MILK 8% 22%
FRUITS AND
VEGETABLES
15% 23%
MEAT 2% 10%
ROOTS AND TUBERS 3% 18%
OILSEEDS AND PULSES 2% 20%
FISH AND SEAFOOD 10% 17%
CEREALS 4% 14%
Waste percentages Colombia:

14. CALCULATION TOTAL FOOD LOSS AND
WASTE
Food Losses
Food waste
Total food loss and
waste
Domestic Supply
Quantity
National
percentage
of food
loss and
waste

15. MAIN RESULTS
Food loss and waste in
Colombia is 34%.
8% of cereals58% of fruits
and vegetables
49% of roots and
tubers
15% of fish and
seafood
23% of milk and
dairy products
12% of meat 13% of oilseeds and
pulses
22% Loss 12% waste

16. MAIN RESULTS
Food loss and waste in
Colombia is around 9.76
millions of tons per year.
772 thousand
tons of
cereals
6,1 millions of
tons of fruits and
vegetables
2,4 millions of
tons of roots and
tubers
50 thousand tons of
fish and seafood
29 thousand tons
of milk and dairy
products
269 thousand
tons of meat
148 thousand tons of
oilseeds and pulses
6,22 million loss 3,54 million waste

17. 40.5%
19.8%3.5%
20.6%
15.6%
DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD LOSS AND
WASTE
Fuente: Cálculos DNP
Agricultural
production
Postharvest handling and
storage
Distribution
Processing and packaging
Household consumption
3,95M (ton)
1,93M (ton)
342 thousand (ton)
2,01M (ton)
1,53M (ton)

18. 73% OF COLOMBIAN HOUSEHOLDS STATE
THAT THEY DO NOT WASTE ANY FOOD
16.96%
34.2%
28.75%
12.74%
7.36%
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Estrato 1 Estrato 2 Estrato 3 Estrato 4 Estrato 5 y 6
Distribution of households by social stratum

19. 77% 73%
66% 63%
23% 27%
34% 37%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Barranquilla Cali Medellín Bogotá
Waste distribution by main cities
No desperdicia Si desperdiciaNo Yes
FOOD WASTE IS MOSTLY AN URBAN
PHENOMENA (97,4%)

20. IMPACTS OF THE STUDY
Three bill drafts are waiting for
approval in the congress, they
include:
• Incentives to stop food waste
(donation)
• Punishments for food waste
• Mandatory reporting of food
losses and waste by
producers, industrialists,
dealers, etc.
• Projects aimed to reduce food
losses:
• Credit lines focused on best
practices (land suitability,
infrastructure, equipment, etc.)
• The Colombian government is
actually working on an model of
technical assistance
• Projects which impact can
reduce food losses and waste:
bridges, roads, milk collection
center, marketplace, etc.

21. THANK YOU
https://colaboracion.dnp.gov.co/CDT/Prensa/Publicaciones/P%C3%A9rdida%2
0y%20desperdicio%20de%20alimentos%20en%20colombia.pdf