Direct Measurement of Mass and Economic Harvest and Post-Harvest Losses in Spanish Persimmon Primary Production

Maria-Angeles Fernandez-Zamudio, Héctor Barco and Felicitas Schneider
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Maria-Angeles Fernandez-Zamudio: Centro para el Desarrollo de la Agricultura Sostenible, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias, 46113 Moncada, Spain
Héctor Barco: Enraíza Derechos, 20012 San Sebastian, Spain
Felicitas Schneider: Thünen Institute of Market Analysis, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany

Agriculture, 2020, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-20

Abstract: Globally, one in every three produced kilograms is wasted at some point along the entire agri-food chain. Unfortunately, knowledge about losses and waste is not equally distributed along the food chain. In fact, in some stages the primary data required to properly estimate the magnitude of the problem are lacking. This is especially true for agricultural production, for which studies that have used on-site measurements are scarce. The present study analyses the mass losses and unpaid share that occur during the harvest process and persimmon storage in warehouses in the Valencia region, Spain. The study was carried out using on-site measurements and primary data from the harvest and storage phases. Losses were also classified according to their causes. The total mass and economic losses were estimated as either 29.5% for the total produced volume or 38.5% for the number of finally commercialised kilograms. This work aims to highlight the complex problem in primary production with the mass and economic losses that farmers bear and to show the potential of loss reduction measures.

Keywords: storage loss; cooperative; loss classification; unfair trading practices; agri-food chain; farm profitability; quantification; tree fruit plants; Mediterranean crops; food loss and waste (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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