In 2016, Ethiopia's annual estimated postharvest losses were 1,626,709 tonnes for maize, 572,549 tonnes for teff, 544,187 tonnes for sorghum, 605,726 tonnes for wheat. The highest and lowest estimated postharvest loss percentages are 19.8% for maize and 2.1% for oats. The costliest estimated postharvest losses in USD are for teff: over 420 million USD, which corresponds to 1.6% of national agricultural GDP.
Within the value chain the majority of loss is estimated to be happening at household-level storage for maize, at harvesting/field drying for teff, at harvesting/field drying for sorghum, at household-level storage for wheat. Within Ethiopia, the highest postharvest losses in tonnes occur for maize in Oromia, for teff in Oromia, for sorghum in Oromia, for wheat in Oromia. Regarding the nutritional losses, the estimated maize grain lost postharvest could have met the annual energy (kcal) dietary requirements of 6,929,636 people.
To view the list of studies used to estimate these losses, please see the References tab.
Top 4 crops with the highest production quantity in tonnes.
| Maize | Teff | Sorghum | Wheat | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Production quantity in tonnes | 8,211,426 tonnes | 4,582,450 tonnes | 4,351,245 tonnes | 4,272,358 tonnes |
| Loss % | 19.8% | 12.5% | 12.5% | 14.2% |
| Losses in tonnes | 1,626,709 tonnes | 572,549 tonnes | 544,187 tonnes | 605,726 tonnes |
| Financial value | > 372 million USD | > 420 million USD | > 125 million USD | > 247 million USD |
| % of national agricultural GDP | 1.4% | 1.6% | 0.5% | 1.0% |
| # of people whose annual energy (kcal) requirements could have been met by the lost crop | 6,929,636 people | – | 2,170,899 people | – |
See full postharvest losses data tables with loss percentage › | losses in tonnes › | losses in USD › | financial impact › | nutritional losses ›
See full value chain data table with estimated losses in percentage › | tonnes › | USD ›