Food Loss by Region and Commodity Group: 2026 Snapshot Based on 2023 FAO Data
Where Pre-Retail Food Losses Were Highest in 2023
This 2026 snapshot compares FAO food-loss results for 2023. The tables cover four broad commodity groups, eight SDG regions and three United Nations development groups. Individual crops and countries are not ranked.
Food Loss Percentage is expressed as a share of food supply. Higher values indicate that a larger proportion leaves the human-food supply chain before retail. The 2026 label identifies the publication snapshot, not a projection for 2026.
Sources include FAO Data Explorer, the FAO SDG Indicators Data Portal, the United Nations Goal 12 extended report and the indicator metadata. Data checked: July 13, 2026.
Sub-Saharan Africa.
Northern America and Europe.
Fruits and vegetables at the global level.
Worldwide pre-retail food loss.
Eight regions, three development groups and four commodity groups.
What the Food Loss Percentage Actually Measures
The Food Loss Percentage estimates quantitative losses from post-harvest, post-slaughter or post-catch operations through transport, storage, wholesale and processing. Retail, restaurants and households fall under the separate Food Waste Index rather than this supply-side indicator.
FAO estimates that 13.3% of food was lost globally before retail in 2023, compared with 13.0% in 2015. The United Nations report describes the change as within expected model variation rather than clear evidence of deterioration. See the official Goal 12 extended report.
Food Loss Percentage is not the Food Loss Index. The percentage describes the estimated share lost in a given year. The index measures change relative to the 2015 base, where 2015 equals 100.
Global Food Loss by Broad Commodity Group
FAO reports comparable global percentages for four broad groups, each covering many products and supply chains. Fruits and vegetables have the highest published value, while cereals and pulses have the lowest.
| Rank | Commodity group | Loss | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fruits and vegetables | 25.4% | Global aggregate |
| 2 | Meat and animal products | 14.0% | Global aggregate |
| 3 | Roots, tubers and oil-bearing crops | 12.3% | Global aggregate |
| 4 | Cereals and pulses | 8.4% | Global aggregate |
Source: FAO SDG Indicators Data Portal and United Nations Goal 12 extended report. Fish and fish products are omitted because the 2026 report states that no comparable current estimate is available.
SDG Regions Ranked by Food-Loss Percentage
The table contains eight non-overlapping SDG regional aggregates. Higher percentages rank higher. United Nations development groups are listed separately because their memberships overlap with the geographic regions.
Showing all 8 SDG regions.
| Rank | SDG region | Loss | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sub-Saharan Africa | 23.0% | SDG region |
| 2 | Oceania excluding Australia and New Zealand | 15.0% | SDG region |
| 3 | Western Asia and Northern Africa | 14.9% | SDG region |
| 4 | Central Asia and Southern Asia | 14.2% | SDG region |
| 5 | Eastern and South-Eastern Asia | 13.9% | SDG region |
| 6 | Australia and New Zealand | 13.8% | SDG region |
| 7 | Latin America and the Caribbean | 13.4% | SDG region |
| 8 | Northern America and Europe | 10.0% | SDG region |
Regional values were checked in FAO Data Explorer and the United Nations Goal 12 extended report. The ranking follows the published percentages in descending order.
Development Groups Reported Separately
The three United Nations development groups are presented separately from the geographic ranking.
| Rank | Development group | Loss | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Least developed countries | 19.9% | UN development group |
| 2 | Small island developing States | 19.0% | UN development group |
| 3 | Landlocked developing countries | 15.9% | UN development group |
Source: United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Extended Report 2026, Goal 12.
Chart: Food Loss Across Eight SDG Regions
The bars reproduce the regional ranking only. Sub-Saharan Africa is the highest at 23.0%, while Northern America and Europe are the lowest combined SDG regional aggregate at 10.0%.
How FAO Builds and Aggregates the Estimates
Metric and unit
Food Loss Percentage before retail, measured in percent. A higher value means a larger estimated share leaves the human-food supply chain before retail.
Reference year
All ranked and compared values refer to 2023. The 2026 label identifies when the latest release was assessed.
Coverage
Eight SDG regions, three UN development groups and four global commodity groups.
Data inputs
FAO combines officially reported loss data, surveys, Food Balance Sheet information, scientific literature and modelled estimates for missing country-commodity combinations.
How missing data are handled
FAO uses an imputation model when country-commodity observations are absent. The published regional and commodity results are therefore official estimates, not a complete set of direct measurements.
Rounding and ranking
Values are shown to one decimal place and ranked from the published percentages before display.
Food Loss Percentage versus Food Loss Index
The percentage reports the estimated loss level in a year. The Food Loss Index reports change relative to the 2015 base. An index above 100 means the loss percentage is higher than in 2015; an index below 100 means it is lower.
Regional weighting
FAO aggregates country indices using weights equal to each country’s total value of agricultural production in the base year. At the commodity level, base-period production quantities and international prices provide fixed economic weights. This keeps the index focused on structural changes rather than annual production-volume fluctuations.
Supply-chain stages
Loss percentages from different stages are not simply added. Each stage is applied to the amount remaining after the previous stage. The final food-loss percentage is the difference between the starting amount and the share still in the food supply chain before retail.
What the metric does not measure
The indicator does not measure retail or household food waste, pre-harvest damage, economic value lost, nutritional value lost, environmental impact, food quality deterioration, domestic value added or total tonnes lost. A region with a higher percentage does not necessarily lose the largest physical quantity of food.
The calculation boundaries, weighting rules and treatment of missing data are documented in the UN metadata for SDG indicator 12.3.1a.
What Stands Out in the Results
Largest regional gap
Sub-Saharan Africa’s 23.0% estimate is 13.0 percentage points above Northern America and Europe’s 10.0% estimate.
Commodity contrast
Fruits and vegetables at 25.4% are slightly more than three times the 8.4% estimate for cereals and pulses.
Middle regional cluster
Six of the eight SDG regional aggregates lie between 13.4% and 15.0%, close to the 13.3% global benchmark.
Development-group concentration
Least developed countries and small island developing States are both near one-fifth of food supply lost before retail.
How to Interpret Regional and Commodity Differences
Why regions can differ
Regional percentages can reflect product mix, storage capacity, transport conditions, processing access, cold-chain coverage and data availability. The aggregate indicator cannot isolate the contribution of any single factor.
Why commodity groups differ
Perishability and handling requirements vary across products. The broad groups also contain different national commodity baskets, so the result should not be transferred to every crop within a group.
Why the figures are estimates
FAO combines reported observations, validation, aggregation and model-based gap filling. The result is not a direct count of every loss event.
Percentages are not tonnes
Percentages, index values and physical tonnage answer different questions. The ranking does not estimate how many tonnes each region loses.
Questions About the Food-Loss Results
Which broad commodity group has the highest food-loss percentage?
Fruits and vegetables have the highest published global estimate among the four reported groups, at 25.4% in 2023.
Are individual crops included in the ranking?
No. FAO publishes comparable global results for broad product groups. The fruits-and-vegetables value cannot be treated as the loss rate for every crop in that group.
Which SDG region has the highest percentage?
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks first among the eight SDG regional aggregates at 23.0% in 2023.
Is the Food Loss Percentage the same as the Food Loss Index?
No. The percentage describes the estimated loss level. The index compares that percentage with the 2015 base, where 2015 equals 100.
Are these 2026 projections?
No. The values describe 2023. Statistical modelling is used to fill missing observations, but no future year is projected.
Why are country rankings not shown?
FAO states that the underlying information remains too incomplete for a robust internationally comparable country-level publication. The official international results are therefore presented mainly for regions and commodity groups.
Sources and Data Access
FAO Data Explorer — Indicator 12.3.1
FAO data table used to verify the regional Food Loss Percentage values.
Open FAO Data ExplorerFAO SDG Indicators Data Portal
Headline results and interpretation for global food loss and broad commodity groups.
Open the FAO indicator pageUnited Nations Extended Report 2026 — Goal 12
United Nations report containing the regional, development-group and commodity-group comparisons.
Open the Goal 12 reportUN SDG Indicator 12.3.1a Metadata
Definition, scope, fixed-base formula, base-year weighting, gap filling and methodological limits.
Open the indicator metadata
