Bangladeshis waste over 1cr tonne food per year
Says UNEP report
On average, a Bangladeshi wastes 65kg food at home per year, according to the "Food Waste Index Report 2021" by the Nairobi-based United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Released on March 4, the report -- designed to support global efforts to halve food waste by 2030 under the Sustainable Development Goals -- estimates Bangladesh's annual food waste to be over one crore tonne (1,06,18,233).
The global per capita food waste is estimated at 74kg a year, which is described in the report as "remarkably similar across the countries, both in lower and higher-income ones".
At least 93.10 crore tonnes of food are wasted globally every year, which amounts to 17 percent of total food production.
Out of the total, nearly 57 crore tonnes of food waste, which is 11 percent of global food production, comes from homes, while five percent from food services and two percent from retail establishments, the report states.
In India, the per capita food waste is estimated at 50kg a year, while Pakistan's annual food waste per capita is 74kg.
For Bangladesh, Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) conducted studies in Chattagram to prepare the UN estimates.