About 3.5 million tonnes of food is wasted in Bangladesh every year. Food Minister Md Abdul Bari gave the information in parliament, citing the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) “Food Waste Index 2024” report. He said this is the picture of the country’s overall waste, and that the waste or shortfall of food grain in government-managed warehouses and silos has been reduced compared with before. He spoke during the question-and-answer session on the second day of the second session of the 13th national parliament on Monday. The session began at 3pm under the chairmanship of Deputy Speaker barrister Kaiser Kamal.
At the session, Md Abul Kalam, MP for Cumilla-9, asked in a written question: “UNEP’s 2024 Food Waste Index report shows that a large part of the food produced in Bangladesh each year — about 3.5 million tonnes — ends up in the rubbish bin. What steps will the ministry take to create public awareness to prevent food waste in the country?” In a written reply, Md Abdul Bari said the 3.5 million tonnes of food waste cited in the UNEP report is an overall figure. Under the food ministry, food grain is procured and stored in warehouses and silos to ensure people’s food security, and some grain is lost in that management when it is distributed to various sectors.
He said that, through building new modern silos and food warehouses and raising stakeholders’ awareness, attention has been given to storing and transporting food grain properly, and that food-grain waste is being reduced in stages. Citing figures, the minister said the total shortfall or waste under government management in the 2023-2024 fiscal year was 21,329.88 metric tonnes — 0.316 percent — while in 2024-25 it fell to 18,887.347 metric tonnes, or 0.28 percent, a reduction from the previous year. He added that the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority is working to ensure food safety and create public awareness against food waste, and is carrying out various activities to prevent the waste and loss of produced goods alongside increasing production.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report