Bangladesh loses more than 21 million tonnes of food each year along the supply chain, from farms to consumers’ tables, Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter said on Monday.
Speaking at a seminar titled “Towards Zero Food Waste: Building a Sustainable Food Supply System in Bangladesh”, Farida cited poor storage facilities, inadequate infrastructure, and weak price management as the main reasons behind the massive food losses, despite farmers’ efforts.
“Even as the government works to increase safe food production, huge amounts of milk, eggs, meat, and fish are wasted,” she said. Farida also highlighted that indiscriminate fishing contributes significantly to waste, with boats discarding nearly two-thirds of their catch, including hilsa, back into the sea—harming biodiversity and marine resources.
The seminar was jointly organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), the Royal Danish Embassy in Dhaka, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Bank, and the World Food Programme (WFP).
Anders Karlsen, Charge d’Affaires of the Danish Embassy, noted that globally one-third of food produced is wasted, wasting not only the food itself but also agricultural land and generating unnecessary greenhouse gases. “The best time to act was yesterday; if not, then today,” he urged.
FAO Deputy Representative Dia Sanou emphasised that while the world produces enough food to feed 1.5 times the global population, poor distribution, weak infrastructure, and waste leave many vulnerable people without adequate nutrition.
WFP Bangladesh Deputy Country Director Jesse Wood added that 8–15% of paddy and 20–40% of fruits and vegetables are lost post-harvest, costing the economy an estimated $2.4 billion annually. He warned that inadequate storage and cold-chain systems force Bangladesh to import products it already produces.
CPD Executive Director Dr Fahmida Khatun highlighted the environmental consequences, stating that food waste depletes scarce natural resources—a major concern for one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries.
Government officials, development partners, private sector innovators, and experts attending the seminar called for effective strategies to reduce food waste and strengthen Bangladesh’s food security.
