©FAO

Article translated from Chinese. Read the entire text in Chinese here. 

As a major agricultural producer and consumer in the world, China faces a food loss and waste problem that cannot be neglected while the country moves toward urbanization. According to data from China's State Administration of Grain in 2014, 35 percent of China's annual food production was lost or wasted.

To combat China’s vast food waste problem, as well as food loss within the country and the broader region and world, the SAVE FOOD Initiative was launched in Shanghai on November 8, 2017 during Shanghai World of Packaging (SWOP) – the country’s leading trade fair in packaging. More than 200 delegates from the food processing and packaging sectors attended the meeting and discussed in depth how to reduce food loss and waste through advanced processing and packaging technologies, innovative packaging materials and processing across the entire industry chain.

Vincent Martin, the Food and Agriculture Organization Representative in China, attended the event and delivered a speech on ‘reducing global food waste through innovation and partnership’.

"Packaging plays an important role in reducing food loss and waste throughout food supply chains, and we need action now," said Martin. He also stressed that innovation is an important way to deal with global challenges such as food loss and waste. FAO supports the development of inclusive and sustainable food systems in China and, under the Belt and Road Initiative, will promote food loss reduction and livelihoods in the countries along the routes indicated in the initiative.

An estimated one third of the world's food production is lost or wasted, or about 1.3 billion tonnes annually. The loss and waste of food takes place from agricultural production to final consumption, with about 670 million tonnes occurring in developed countries and 630 million tonnes in developing countries each year.