Singapore hit by farm-to-market food losses worth $2.54b

393,000 tonnes of food loss occurs during upstream and midstream from imported foods and local farms.

Food loss, which refers to food that is lost in the supply chain between producer and the market, contributes to an estimated $2.54b from farm to market within Singapore, the Singapore Environment Council revealed in a study with Deloitte.

Food waste is one of the city’s top five largest waste streams generated. An estimated 393,000 tonnes of food loss occurs during upstream and midstream from imported foods and local farms, even before reaching retail and consumers.

Out of these, around 342,000 tonnes of food loss occurs in Singapore. As Singapore imports most of its food requirements, more than 144,000 tonnes is lost when imported food lands in Singapore.

Also read: Government aims to have 30% of food to be locally-produced

For the locally produced food within Singapore, more than 5,000 tonnes of food is lost at production, and close to 2,000 tonnes of food is lost during post-harvest handling and storage. During the processing and packaging of imported and locally produced food items, there is a food loss of close to 75,000 tonnes, and food loss of more than 116,000 tonnes during distribution.

The study also looked at key drivers for food loss as well as food waste, which is defined by the Food and Agricultural Organisation as the discarding or alternative (non-food) use of food that is safe and nutritious for human consumption.

Of the 342,000 tonnes of food loss incurred within Singapore, vegetables and fruits top the list, making up about 167,000 tonnes or 49% whilst eggs accounted for the lowest share at about 5,500 tonnes or 1.6%.

Singapore Environment Council chairman Isabella Huang-Loh commented, “In Singapore, food waste is largely monitored at the post-consumer or downstream stage, with little awareness of the losses occurring at the upstream and midstream stages. When taken together – especially given the fact that Singapore imports more than 90% of its food needs – the bigger picture points to an urgent need to address food loss and food waste now.”

Some of the key drivers of food loss identified in the study are poor disease and pest management, over the importation of food items, fragmented cold chain management, and inadequate infrastructure.

Downstream consumer study
Research showed that at the consumer stage, more than 26,000 tonnes of unconsumed foods are thrown away from households annually due to improper storage, purchasing patterns, and food handling habits.

One of the findings from the consumer survey revealed that Singapore households throw away an estimated $6.57m worth of food per week. This would amount to about $258 per household per year from unconsumed food or about $342m for all households in Singapore annually.

About one-third of respondents surveyed indicated they generally would throw away 10% or more of uncooked and unconsumed food items per week.

Meanwhile, 20% of respondents can be classified as “smart consumers”. They are consumers who generally do not throw away unconsumed food, make sure they consume all food items bought and do not buy more than they need, and shop at least once a week without contributing to an increase in food waste.