How better chains can cut food loss worldwide

GroentenFruit Huis or Fresh Produce Centre is the Dutch association for the fruit and vegetable sector. It represents around 270 companies, including importers, exporters, producer organizations, and fresh-cut companies. ‘We support efforts to reduce food loss by helping these companies navigate regulations, controls, phytosanitary requirements, food safety and customs procedures,’ Matthijs Montsma says. ‘And by pushing for improvements where rules hinder efficient trade. We also contribute indirectly to international cold chain development and back consumer initiatives such as​​​​​​​ Veggipedia, an independent source for information about fruit and vegetables, including nutritional value and recipes, aimed at promoting healthier diets and better use of fruit and vegetables.’

‘Keeping produce fresh is always a challenge,’ says Montsma. ‘You can harvest at the right moment, pack it well, cool it, and move it across the world, but there is always a shelf-life limit. That challenge becomes even greater in international supply chains. The farther produce must travel, the more important storage conditions, logistics, and chain coordination become. A failure at any point in the chain quickly leads to higher losses.’

Loss levels differ by product, country, market, and stage

Still, he is careful not to reduce the discussion to one simple global percentage. Loss levels differ widely by product, country, market, and stage of the chain. A strawberry behaves very differently from an apple: an apple can be stored for months under the right cooled conditions, while a strawberry often lasts only a few days. That means losing even one day in chain efficiency can have a major impact on strawberry losses, while supermarket shelf time is also much more limited. And the point at which losses occur also differs greatly between regions.

In lower-income countries, losses often happen early in the chain, for example after harvest, during storage, or during transport. In Europe, by contrast, a larger share of waste occurs later in the chain, especially at retail and consumer level. ‘Globally, about 30% of all food is lost,’ Montsma says. ‘In developed countries, more than half of these losses – over 50% – take place at the consumer level. In developing countries, losses more often occur at the beginning of the supply chain. The exact figures vary depending on, for example, the type of chain, domestic, or export market. The main causes are often clear: a lack of proper cold chains, poor infrastructure, and inadequate or non-optimal packaging. These causes are linked not only to technology, but also to the knowledge needed to use that technology effectively.’

Loss is not always as straightforward as it looks

Montsma also stresses that not every apparent loss is an absolute loss. In some markets, for example in Ghana or Côte d’Ivoire, quality declines quickly, but products may still be sold at a lower price or used for another purpose.

He gives another example of Mozambique, where he saw both chilled and non-chilled fruit and vegetable chains in practice. Produce entering a cooled chain could go to restaurants, company canteens, or supermarkets. But produce sold on open markets follows a different route. There, quality drops faster and prices fall during the day. Yet, lower-income consumers still buy the product. This also reflects the role of informal markets, where cosmetic requirements are often less strict and where little is thrown away because there is a consumer group that depends on this more affordable supply.

‘You could say there were losses,’ he explains, ‘but the situation was more nuanced. The quality went down fast, and so did the value, but it was still sold and consumed. So, it also depends on the value you assign to food and what market you are serving.’

That same nuance applies to products that no longer meet retail standards. A fruit or vegetable may no longer qualify for Class I retail sale – meaning it no longer meets the minimum trade standard for that retail category under internationally recognized quality norms – but that does not automatically mean it has no value. It may still be sold as Class II or another lower class, or it may still be processed into soup, paste, powder, or another ingredient. In that sense, part of the challenge is not only preventing losses, but also creating higher value uses for side streams.

Cold chains matter, but they are not a silver bullet

Cold chains are often presented as the key solution to food loss in fruit and vegetables. Montsma agrees that cooling is crucial, but he warns against overly simplistic thinking. ‘It’s not just a matter of letting everything cool and the problem is solved,’ he says.‘

Cooling only works if people know how to use it. Different products require different conditions. Bananas react differently from lettuce, for example. Cooling can preserve quality, but improper cooling can also damage products, dry them out, or waste energy.’

‘In practice, much of this is also captured in protocols, for example through continuous temperature monitoring along the chain to show that the cold chain has remained closed and to help prevent claims. GroentenFruit Huis members also transfer these requirements and practical knowledge to producers in third countries, helping to build reliable trade relationships and secure long-term sourcing.’

That means reducing food loss is not only about installing hardware. It is also about knowledge, training, logistics, and market organization. If a producer cools a product properly, but it then sits for hours in the sun on its way to the port, much of the benefit is lost. The same applies if a country lacks reliable infrastructure, electricity, or a closed cold chain all the way to export.

‘You need the technique, but you also need people who understand how to use it and a system that supports it,’ Montsma says. ‘Otherwise, investment in cooling does not automatically translate into lower food loss.’

The Netherlands is strong with genetics

When asked where the Netherlands stands out, Montsma points to plant breeding. Long before produce enters storage or transport, important decisions are already being made at seed level. Dutch breeding companies are selecting not only for taste and yield, but increasingly for chain performance. That includes shelf life, resistance to moisture loss, and suitability for transport or lower-packaging systems. ‘Companies such as Rijk Zwaan, Enza Zaden, Bejo Zaden, and East-West Seed are examples of how reducing losses can start as early as variety selection.’

According to Montsma, this has become even more important as pressure grows to reduce plastic packaging. ‘If you remove plastic packaging, you may increase food loss,’ he says. That has pushed breeders and researchers to look more closely at the mechanisms in a plant or fruit that help prevent dehydration and quality decline.

Additional Dutch strength in chain efficiency

In addition to breeding, the Netherlands stands out for its supply chain efficiency. ‘We’re very good at fast handling, proper cooling, short turnaround times, smart packaging, and close cooperation between multiple links in the chain,’ Montsma says. ‘This know-how is strongest in advanced, higher-tech systems. It is less evident in small-scale cold chains for domestic markets, where lower purchasing power often shapes what is feasible.’

The Dutch are also at the forefront in post-harvest technology. Montsma mentions companies such as Geerlofs and Celtic Cooling in relation to cold chain development, while firms including Van Amerongen, Storex, and Besseling are active in storage and preservation. In sorting and handling technology, he points to companies such as Aweta, Ellips, and Greefa. Together, these examples show the full scope of Dutch expertise in keeping produce marketable for longer and reducing losses across the chain.

Digitalization is adding another layer to this. Companies increasingly track product quality, harvesting conditions, and how products behave during transport. That gives traders and logistics operators more insight into remaining shelf life and helps them decide which market is best suited for a specific batch.

The biggest international opportunity is in chain development

For Montsma, the biggest international opportunities for Dutch companies lie not in one single technology, but in helping build better-organized supply chains. That includes cooling, packaging, sorting, storage, seed technology, and greenhouse systems. But it also includes chain management, training, and cooperation models that help producers reach export markets more effectively.

One important issue is scale. Small producers often cannot finance modern storage or cooling individually. In such cases, cooperation models can help. ‘You may not want every producer to buy a small cooling unit,’ Montsma says. ‘It may make more sense to organize larger shared facilities and scale up that way. It also makes investment more attractive for private companies: the more organized and scalable the system is, and the lower the risk, the greater the role Dutch companies can play.’

He also emphasizes that members of GroentenFruit Huis mainly operate in trade. In practice, that means they often invest in building supply chains on the ground, for example through packing stations, better water management, integrated pest management, and improvements in working conditions. In other words, they invest not only in physical infrastructure, but also in the knowledge, systems, and people needed to make those chains work.

Africa stands out, but only if the basics are in place

When asked where opportunities are greatest, Montsma points to Africa. In his view, the continent has major potential, though that potential depends heavily on local conditions. ‘Africa has enormous potential for Europe on multiple fronts,’ he says. ‘But infrastructure is critical.’ That includes roads, rail, electricity, storage, ports, and export procedures. Government capacity also matters. If local authorities cannot issue the right export certificates or if procedures are unclear, supply chains become slower, less predictable, and more costly.

Montsma mentions countries such as Egypt, Kenya, Ethiopia, and in the long-term Angola, as places with potential, though each has its own constraints. In some cases, Dutch companies may already see opportunities to export knowledge and technology, even if full trade relationships are still developing.

This also clarifies the business case. Investments in reducing food loss become attractive when they are part of a viable chain with financing, scale, and market access. ‘Food loss costs money,’ Montsma says. ‘If food is thrown away, you lose the product, the labor, the water, the fertilizer, the fuel, and possibly the transport costs as well. You have incurred costs without generating income.’

LAN helps bridge policy and practice

Montsma is clear about the added value of the Netherlands Agricultural Network (LAN). For companies operating internationally, agricultural counselors and their teams play a practical and often decisive role. Their value lies in connecting companies to local authorities and helping resolve market-access and phytosanitary issues and procedural bottlenecks.

He gives several examples. ‘In Indonesia and Japan, there is a structured partnership focused on market access for Dutch greenhouse vegetables, strawberries and onions. The LAN teams there support bilateral negotiations and provide information on changes in trade legislation. Dutch companies exchange information, and in cooperation with the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) , and the Kwaliteits-Controle-Bureau export protocols are developed.’ 

In Colombia and Peru, the agricultural counselor helps bring together local researchers, institutes, and Dutch knowledge partners to improve avocado quality, which in turn helps reduce losses in export chains. Montsma: ‘Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and the Colombian research center Agrosavia work together to gain better control over postharvest management for avocados, including temperature guidelines and the use of controlled atmosphere storage. Various Colombian exporters and Dutch importers benefit from this knowledge.’

‘In Peru, efforts are underway to establish a postharvest treatment for the export of asparagus to the EU. By applying cooling in combination with other techniques, the aim is to prevent a harmful quarantine pest from entering the export chain. Several importers, the Peruvian government, the Peruvian Asparagus Exporters Association, and the LAN team in Lima are involved in this initiative.’

‘The network is important for us,’ Montsma says. ‘They signal issues, help address them, and have access to local governments. That is extremely relevant if you want supply chains to function properly.’ He also sees this as part of a wider Dutch strength: public-private cooperation. The combination of government support, business expertise, and international networks allows the Netherlands to move more effectively from ambition to implementation.

The biggest lesson: understanding the chain first

Montsma’s main message to policymakers and international partners is straightforward: organization comes first. ‘Make sure the chain is well organized,’ he says. ‘And understand how it works. That means grasping the technical side, the logistics, the market, the financing, and the role of government. Without that broader view, even good intentions and useful technologies may fail to deliver.’

He points to one major misunderstanding in the current debate: the assumption that removing packaging is always the sustainable option. However, packaging often plays a crucial role in preserving quality and preventing losses, especially in long international supply chains. Taking it away without considering the consequences can backfire. ‘At the same time, companies are exploring alternative, more sustainable packaging solutions, including biodegradable options, although these often come at a higher cost that retailers are not always willing to absorb.’

For Montsma, food loss in fruit and vegetables cannot be tackled through single-issue thinking. It requires an integrated view of quality, shelf life, logistics, markets, and policy. Supply chains therefore need to be organized with the product, the market, and the destination in mind. In his view, that is the only way to reduce food loss effectively.

More information

For more information on food loss in fruit and vegetables, Dutch expertise in post-harvest and cold chain development, and the role of GroentenFruit Huis, you can contact:

• Matthijs Montsma 

• Email: montsma@groentenfruithuis.nl 

• LinkedIn: GroentenFruit Huis