In 2021, Malawi's annual estimated postharvest losses were 783,419 tonnes for maize, 20,711 tonnes for rice, 12,662 tonnes for sorghum, 4,804 tonnes for millet. The highest and lowest estimated postharvest loss percentages are 17.1% for maize and 10.7% for sorghum. The costliest estimated postharvest losses in USD are for maize: over 142 million USD.
Within the value chain, for all crops the majority of loss is estimated to be happening at harvesting/field drying. Within Malawi, the highest postharvest losses in tonnes occur for maize in Central Region, for rice in Southern Region, for sorghum in Southern Region, for millet in Southern Region. Regarding the nutritional losses, the estimated maize grain lost postharvest could have met the annual energy (kcal) dietary requirements of 3,266,036 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 | Rice | Sorghum | Millet | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Production quantity in tonnes | 4,581,524 tonnes | 155,433 tonnes | 118,351 tonnes | 42,289 tonnes |
| Loss % | 17.1% | 13.3% | 10.7% | 11.4% |
| Losses in tonnes | 783,419 tonnes | 20,711 tonnes | 12,662 tonnes | 4,804 tonnes |
| Financial value | > 142 million USD | > 22 million USD | – | – |
| % of national agricultural GDP | – | – | – | – |
| # of people whose annual energy (kcal) requirements could have been met by the lost crop | 3,266,036 people | 86,344 people | 55,525 people | – |
See full postharvest losses data tables with loss percentage › | losses in tonnes › | losses in USD › | nutritional losses ›
See full value chain data table with estimated losses in percentage › | tonnes › | USD ›