The Ministry of Food Processing Industries is mandated to create post-harvest infrastructure and processing facilities, inter-alia, to boost the overall development of the food processing sector including reduction in post-harvest losses; enhancing value addition etc. The Ministry estimates post-harvest losses in various agriculture commodities through various studies based on primary surveys. Two studies were commissioned by the Ministry through (i) Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology (ICAR-CIPHET) titled “Assessment of Quantitative Harvest and Post Harvest Losses of Major Crops and commodities in India” (2015); and (ii) NABARD Consultancy Service Pvt. Ltd (NABCONS) titled “Study to Determine Post-Harvest Losses of Agri Produce in India” (2022).
The comparative findings of these two studies are as under:
Post-harvest losses of major crops and commodities
| Crops/ Commodities | Loss (%) | |
| As per ICAR-CIPHET Study (2015)* | As per NABCONS study (2022)** | |
| Cereals | 4.65 – 5.99 | 3.89-5.92 |
| Pulses | 6.39 – 8.41 | 5.65-6.74 |
| Oil Seeds | 3.08 – 9.96 | 2.87-7.51 |
| Fruits | 6.70-15.88 | 6.02-15.05 |
| Vegetables | 4.58-12.44 | 4.87-11.61 |
| Plantation Crops & Spices | 1.18-7.89 | 1.29-7.33 |
| Milk | 0.92 | 0.87 |
| Fisheries (Inland) | 5.23 | 4.86 |
| Fisheries (Marine) | 10.52 | 8.76 |
| Meat | 2.71 | 2.34 |
| Poultry | 6.74 | 5.63 |
| Egg | 7.19 | 6.03 |
This information was given by the Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
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