Evaluation of Losses at the Primary Production Stage of Edible Carrots

Maryla Bieniek-Majka

Roczniki (Annals), 2023, vol. 2023, issue 3

Abstract: The aim of the article is to present the magnitude of losses at the stage of primary edible carrot production and to indicate directions for redistributing production waste. The study included producers of edible carrots located in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, whose average yield size in the years 2019-2021 corresponded to 15% of the total yield collected in the voivodeship and approximately 2.4% in the country. Based on expert interviews and commercial documentation analysis, it was found that, due to high customer demands regarding the appearance of carrots (“cosmetic standards”), on average, only about 44% of the weight of calibrated carrots intended for sale constituted the mass of the harvested raw material. Approximately 7% was allocated to processing plants, and around 26% of the raw material mass was used for animal feed. The remaining portion of the harvest represented production losses (19%) and fuel for biogas plants (4%). In order to reduce production losses, primarily resulting from the depreciation of items solely based on their appearance, recipients (e.g., retail chains) should enable producers to deliver less visually appealing raw materials with corresponding price discounts. It is also crucial to raise awareness among customers through educational and promotional efforts, emphasizing the equal nutritional value of raw materials regardless of their appearance (straight, curved, thicker, thinner). This will increase both the product’s availability to the public and production efficiency for the producer.

Keywords: Agribusiness; Agricultural and Food Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/340020/files/BIENIEK-2.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:paaero:340020

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.340020

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Roczniki (Annals) from Polish Association of Agricultural Economists and Agribusiness - Stowarzyszenie Ekonomistow Rolnictwa e Agrobiznesu (SERiA) Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by AgEcon Search ().