Causes of Postharvest Losses

Many of the causes of cereal postharvest losses in Egypt commonly occur across the world (e.g. poor handling techniques, storage pests, weak monitoring, theft etc.). In addition Egypt faces a number of other less common causes of cereal loss due in part to the various subsidies associated with the cereal (particularly wheat) supply chains. These loss causing factors are summarised in Table.

The Egyptian Government is heavily involved in the wheat supply chains on a number of levels:

i) Producer input and output support – including subsidised fertiliser prices, and domestic procurement prices at higher than the import parity price

12 _{Minimum specifications. = ≤13% moisture content; falling number of 200, impurities ≤0.5%; protein content ≥10-12%;} specific weight ≤ 76kg/ hectolitre; safe to eat and free of unpleasant odours/ tastes; meets international limits on pesticide residues ≤0.1%, mycotoxins and heavy metals (cadmium and lead ≤0.2%). Defects ≤ 5% of weight; specifically ≤1.5% by weight of grain admixture; <1% by weight dead insects; < 4% damaged grain by weight; 20 poisonous or harmful seeds/kg; free of live insects and dead rodents; fumigation is necessary if 2 insects found within 1kg sample; organic materials < 5% of weight (GASC in FAO, 2015)

ii) Consumer support – heavily subsidised price of baladi bread (accessed using smart-card system since 2015), and government ownership of 12% of bread baking capacity

iii) Public investment in improved grain storage facilities and state trading

iv) Public support to general services (crop breeding research, phytosanitary control etc.) (FAO, 2015)

Whilst these government interventions aim to secure national food security, political stability and act as a vital social safety net for the 25% of Egyptians living below the poverty line (World Bank, 2011), there are unintended outcomes. These include:

 the high subsidised procurement price to encourage wheat production in Egypt13 _also

encourages fraud as cheaper imported wheat is sold on as or blended with domestically produced wheat (Wally, 2016)

 large volumes of flour being resold on the black market (FAO, 2015)

 significant extra costs/inefficiencies due to government involvement in cereal procurement, storage and milling compared to if the process was liberalised14

 increasingly complex tender documents, import requirements and processes15

 poor quality of many of the shouna storage open bag-stack arrangements cause qualitative and quantitative losses due to exposure to weather and pests, plus labour, bag and handling costs are high due to large number of employees, complex procurement system and security guarding; failed fumigations are reported (El- Lakwah, 1995)

 Inefficient management of government storage facilities at the ports lead to long turnaround and loading times, delays in port and increased demurrage costs (FAO, 2015).

13 _{In 2014, the government spent ~USD$357 on subsidising the price of domestic wheat}

14 _{Some suppliers suggest imported wheat prices are higher for the government than for private companies by roughly USD} 6-7/tonne, plus a further USD 0.50-0.75/tonne for government inspections at the port of loading compared to using private inspection services at a cost of about USD 0.25/tonne. Additionally, the “freedom from ambrosia seeds” rules in force mean that if a shipment is declared to include ambrosia, additional costs of USD 12-15/tonne are incurred. This risk converts into higher prices for Egypt’s wheat imports.

15 _{Including the strict and subject-to-change-without-notice import specifications (e.g. ergot tolerance), and short notice} GASC tenders, e.g. 7 weeks from tender originating to delivery of the wheat – which leads to suppliers incurring additional costs and some potential supply origins being unable to participate (FAO, 2015).

Table 44: Causes of postharvest loss in Egyptian cereal supply chains, supply chain actors involved, and loss reduction options

Postharvest

stage Causes of postharvest loss Actor who could reduce loss (and grain origin)

Loss reduction options Farmer produced and home- stored local grain Govt. procured, stored & milled local grain Govt. procured imported grain Private trader procured imported grain Pre-harvest factors affecting PH

Varietal choice, as some are less drought tolerant and more susceptible to storage pests

X - Cereal breeding for drought tolerance and PH characteristics (e.g. storage pest susceptibility)

- Awareness of timely planting, soil management Timing of planting, and soil-water

management

X

Harvesting Late harvesting, grain shattering,

insect infestation in field X - Awareness of optimal harvest timing, field infestation risk

- Better advanced planning for PH activities Poor harvesting/ labour

management – some grain left in field

X

Field drying

Theft by birds, livestock, wild-

animals, humans X - Stooking and/or quick removal of mature crop from field

- Use of clean sheets/ containers to protect crop Contamination by fungi, insects,

foreign matter if on ground X

Transport from field

Spillage through use of unsuitable

containers/ carelessness X - Better planning & monitoring of advanced PH activities.

- Awareness on cross- contamination risks Theft by humans X

Contamination through use of old sacks/ dirty containers

X

Further drying

Rain during drying X - Supervise grain drying so it can be quickly covered, tether or fence livestock

- Awareness on risks of drying on ground and need for safe moisture content, use sheets/tarps or raised crib, thin layer Inadequate drying practices/

knowledge X Theft/ damage by domestic or wild animals

X Contamination by fungi, insects, foreign matter if on ground X

Threshing/ shelling

Rough threshing/ shelling leading to damaged/ broken grains

X - Erect sides around threshing/shelling platforms and sheets underneath, gentler beating to prevent breakage, timely harvesting before crop over matures, maintenance/ knowledge of threshing machine to minimise breakage Scattering and loss of grains X

Contamination with foreign matter (e.g. small stones, dust) X

Sorting No price premium for high quality,

so no incentive for sorting X X - Awareness: broken grains reduce pest removing damage. Support development of quality sensitive markets Transport to market or govt. store

Contamination through use of dirty

containers and vehicles X X X X - Awareness re loss risks of over-filling and use of dirty/contaminated containers

- Awareness on need to cover food grain during transport

- Improved roads and barge routes to reduce delays, theft and deterioration. Anti- corruption actions Theft/ corruption by humans X X X X

Over-filling sacks resulting in them splitting

X X