China announces plan to cut food waste at the production, transport and storage end

China has announced an action plan to reduce food loss and waste.

It came days after President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the Group of 20 summit in Brazil, declaring that China was joining the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty and would remain a committed host of the International Conference on Food Loss and Waste.

The proposal released by the general offices of the Communist Party’s Central Committee and State Council on Monday said the goal by the end of 2027 was to “keep loss rates of grain and food during production, storage, transportation and processing phases below average international levels”.

China’s grain security is coming under pressure from climate change and the international political and economic situation, Han Jingbo, an official of the National Development and Reform Commission told The Paper, a Shanghai-based news portal.

The plan lists key tasks to reduce food loss and waste. It calls for technical standards in grain production and harvesting, equipment innovation and training for agricultural machinery operators. It also encourages a higher standard for storage and the creation of special transport routes and equipment to cut grain loss.

It seeks to raise public awareness about saving food, cutting personal and household waste and healthy eating. Restaurants and government canteens will launch anti-waste campaigns that encourage the packing up of leftovers and punish wastefulness.

A statistical survey system will evaluate the waste of grain, meat, vegetables, fruit, aquatic products and other comprehensive food categories, it said.