India food wastage fact of the day

From FT, about the magnitude of food wastage in India,

According to estimates by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), about 40 per cent of India’s fresh fruit and vegetables – worth an annual $8.3bn or so – perishes before reaching consumers. Each year, some 21m metric tonnes of wheat, especially grain – an amount almost equal to Australia’s total annual production – rots in India because of improper storage in the custody of the government-controlled Food Corporation of India.

And about the logistics required to establish a more efficient farm-to-fork model,

According to a recent study by the Indian Institute of Management in Kolkata, cold storage facilities are available for just 10 per cent of India’s perishable produce – and are mostly used for potatoes – to meet India’s robust demand for chips. The study estimates that India needs storage facilities for another 370m metric tons of perishable produce.