Information to reduce food loss and waste in Uruguay

Uruguay identified the need for national information to assess the scale of food loss and waste, understand its causes and generate inputs for the design of public policies. In 2016, with support from FAO, a National Committee was established to address the reduction of food loss and waste. It brought together public institutions and organizations working in the areas of food, health, production and the environment.

Within this framework, the study Estimation of Food Loss and Waste in Uruguay was conducted. It was funded by FAO and managed by the Ricaldoni Foundation, with the participation of technical teams from the Faculty of Engineering, the Faculty of Economics and Administration, and Equipos Consultores. The study aimed to provide an initial assessment of the national situation and establish an information baseline for future action.

To estimate food loss and waste at the national level, the study analysed the country’s main agrifood value chains and identified the product groups accounting for more than 90 percent of the gross value of agricultural production: cereals, oilseeds, fruit and vegetables, sugar cane, meat, dairy products and fish. Conceptual supply-chain diagrams were developed for each of these categories, making it possible to quantify production, import, export and domestic consumption flows, as well as to estimate the share of production allocated to seeds, animal feed and energy generation. This analysis provided the methodological basis for identifying and estimating food losses at the different stages of the food supply chain.

The study made it possible to quantify the total and per capita volume of food loss and waste, identify the stages of the supply chain at which they occur, develop an estimate of household food waste, and identify factors that help explain the phenomenon. To this end, it combined the analysis of statistical information, publications and available data with data collection and processing activities.

One of its main conclusions was that, between 2011 and 2016, an average of one million tonnes of food was lost or wasted each year in Uruguay, representing approximately 10 percent of the food supply available for human consumption. This finding helped draw attention to the scale of the problem and strengthened discussion of its social, economic and environmental impacts.

The study also highlighted the importance of analysing food loss and waste across the entire food supply chain, from production to consumption, and of considering households’ cultural, dietary, purchasing and planning habits. It also provided methodological elements for advancing towards more accurate and comparable measurements.

This study provided valuable input for the subsequent development of the National Strategy for the Prevention and Reduction of Food Loss and Waste, prepared between 2022 and 2023 with support from FAO and the Inter-American Development Bank. The Strategy was conceived as a planning tool to prevent and reduce food loss and waste and improve its management in Uruguay, with a long-term vision aimed at achieving more sustainable food systems.

Enlaces de interés

Study on Food Loss and Waste in Uruguay

Report “Estimation of Food Loss and Waste in Uruguay: Scope and Causes”

National Strategy for the Prevention and Reduction of Food Loss and Waste