THE FOOD BILL NOBODY IS TALKING ABOUT

MENA’S HIDDEN COST OF FOOD WASTE

JAFAJ SPECIAL REPORT  |  FOOD SECURITY, ECONOMIC RESILIENCE & REGIONAL POLICY
NOVEMBER 11, 2026

MENA IS PAYING FOR FOOD TWICE: FIRST TO PRODUCE OR IMPORT IT, AND AGAIN WHEN IT IS LOST, DISCARDED OR ALLOWED TO SPOIL.

THE $60 BILLION PROBLEM

The Middle East and North Africa has a food-security problem that extends beyond drought, agricultural production and dependence on imports. A significant share of the food already entering the region is never consumed.

The World Bank’s 2026 report, Waste Management in the Middle East and North Africa, estimates that food waste costs the region as much as US$60 billion annually. The report also states that approximately 19% of available food—about 15 million metric tons—is lost or wasted, equivalent to 75–130 kilograms per person annually. Importantly, the World Bank describes this 19% figure as combined food loss and food waste, not consumer waste alone. It estimates that one in six people in the region faces severe food insecurity. [1]

The contradiction is difficult to ignore: governments spend billions securing food supplies while enormous quantities of food are lost or discarded before they can provide nutritional or economic value.

This is not simply a household behavior problem. It is a supply-chain, infrastructure, investment and governance problem.

THE FOOD IS LOST BEFORE IT REACHES THE TABLE

Food loss and food waste are related, but they are not identical.

Food loss occurs earlier in the supply chain: during harvesting, storage, transportation, processing and distribution. Food waste generally occurs closer to the consumer, including at retail outlets, restaurants, hotels and households.

The distinction matters because the solutions are different.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that almost 15% of food produced in the Near East and North Africa is lost between the post-harvest stage and retail. Separately, FAO’s regional platform reports an estimated 75–163 kilograms per person of food waste at retail and household levels each year. These figures describe different stages of the food chain and should not be added together or treated as interchangeable with the World Bank’s combined 75–130 kilogram estimate. [2]

That means the problem begins long before food reaches a supermarket or restaurant.

Inadequate cold storage, weak transportation systems, poor handling practices, inefficient inventory management and limited processing capacity all contribute. In some markets, food that could have been preserved, transported or sold is lost because the infrastructure needed to protect it does not exist.

The result is a hidden economic penalty imposed across the entire food system.

THE WATER BILL BEHIND THE FOOD BILL

Food waste is also water waste.

Every discarded item represents water used to grow, process, package and transport food. In a region where freshwater is among the most constrained economic resources, throwing away food also means throwing away a portion of the water invested in producing it.

This creates a direct connection between food policy and water security.

A country that imports food is also importing the water embedded in that food. When imported food is discarded, the country loses the foreign currency used to purchase it, along with the water and energy consumed throughout its production and delivery.

For countries with limited agricultural capacity, this is especially important. Reducing food loss can increase the effective availability of food without requiring additional farmland, irrigation or imports.

The opportunity is not merely to produce more. It is to preserve more of what is already produced and purchased.

A REGIONAL PROBLEM WITH DIFFERENT NATIONAL CONSEQUENCES

Food waste does not affect every MENA country in the same way.

In West Asia, high consumption, hospitality, catering and large-scale food-service operations create opportunities for savings through better purchasing, portion management, redistribution and waste measurement. UNEP’s 2021 assessment, covering 12 countries, estimated that approximately 34% of food served was wasted and household food waste ranged from 100 to 150 kilograms per person annually. The report also cited research indicating that 25–50% of food prepared during Ramadan may be wasted. These are study-wide regional estimates, not uniform measurements for every Gulf country. [3]

In North Africa, the challenge extends further upstream. Agricultural losses, inadequate storage, transport limitations and water-intensive production can undermine food availability before products reach consumers.

In countries facing conflict, currency shortages or weakened infrastructure, food loss can be even more damaging. Disrupted electricity, damaged roads, limited refrigeration and unstable distribution networks make it harder to preserve supplies and maintain affordable prices.

The policy response therefore cannot be identical across the region. Wealthier countries can concentrate on measurement, prevention, redistribution and advanced processing. Countries with weaker infrastructure may need to prioritize storage, transport, refrigeration and basic market access.

THE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY HIDDEN IN THE WASTE

The $60 billion figure should not be viewed only as a measure of failure. It also identifies a significant investment opportunity.

Reducing food loss and waste requires practical systems that can produce measurable financial returns:

• Cold-chain infrastructure: refrigerated warehouses, transport vehicles and temperature-monitoring systems.
• Modern storage: improved grain silos, produce storage and post-harvest handling.
• Smarter distribution: inventory management, demand forecasting and logistics technology.
• Food recovery: systems connecting retailers, hotels and food-service companies with organizations capable of safely redistributing surplus food.
• Processing and preservation: facilities that extend shelf life and convert suitable surplus produce into usable products.
• Measurement technology: national data systems that identify where food is being lost and quantify the financial cost.

These are not simply environmental projects. They are opportunities for private investment, job creation, improved logistics and stronger food-system performance.

The World Bank’s 2026 assessment identifies a broader circular-economy opportunity: up to 83% of collected waste in MENA could potentially be reused, recycled or recovered for energy. That figure applies to collected waste overall; it is not a food-waste recovery rate. Food-waste prevention, safe redistribution, composting and appropriate organic-waste treatment should therefore be evaluated as distinct parts of the wider transition. [1]

THE MEASUREMENT GAP IS A POLICY PROBLEM
The available evidence also points to a weakness in the region’s measurement systems. UNEP’s 2021 West Asia assessment reported that, at the time, Saudi Arabia was the only country in the region identified as having completed a national food-loss-and-waste baseline. That finding should be read as a 2021 snapshot, not as a statement about current national coverage. The policy priority is to establish updated, comparable national baselines that distinguish farm and supply-chain losses from waste at retail, food service and household levels. Without that separation, governments cannot reliably identify where investment will produce the greatest reduction. [3][5]

WHAT GOVERNMENTS SHOULD DO NOW

MENA governments should begin treating food loss and waste as an economic-security issue.

• Establish national food-loss and waste baselines. Governments cannot manage what they do not measure. Each country should identify the principal sources of loss across farms, warehouses, transport, retail and households.
• Invest in the supply chain. Cold storage, modern warehouses, reliable transport and food-processing capacity should be recognized as food-security infrastructure.
• Create incentives for food recovery. Governments should establish clear food-safety rules and practical incentives for businesses to donate safe surplus food rather than discard it.
• Improve commercial accountability. Large retailers, hotels, restaurants and food-service operators should measure and report food waste, beginning with voluntary reporting and progressing toward appropriate national standards.
• Link food policy to water policy. National water and agricultural strategies should account for the water lost when food is wasted. Reducing food waste should be recognized as one component of water conservation.
• Encourage private-sector investment. Public-private partnerships can help finance refrigeration, storage, processing, logistics and food-recovery systems. Governments should focus on creating predictable standards and investment conditions.

THE JAFAJ BOTTOM LINE

MENA cannot afford to treat food waste as a minor environmental concern.

The region is spending foreign currency to import food, energy to transport and store it, water to produce it, and public resources to manage the waste left behind. Meanwhile, millions of people face food insecurity and governments remain exposed to international price shocks and supply disruptions.

The approximately $60 billion annual loss estimated by the World Bank represents more than discarded food. It represents a failure to capture the full economic value of resources the region has already paid for.

The next stage of MENA food-security policy should not focus exclusively on finding new sources of food. It should also focus on protecting the food already available.

THE REGION DOES NOT HAVE TO GROW OR IMPORT EVERY ADDITIONAL MEAL IT NEEDS. IT CAN BEGIN BY STOPPING THE LOSS OF MEALS IT ALREADY HAS.

SOURCE NOTES

[1] World Bank. Waste Management in the Middle East and North Africa. Washington, DC: World Bank, 2026. The report’s food-loss-and-waste discussion states that food waste costs MENA up to US$60 billion annually; approximately 19% of available food (about 15 million metric tons) is lost or wasted; and the regional estimate is 75–130 kg per person annually. The report also states that one in six people in the region faces severe food insecurity. See the report’s food loss and waste discussion and Box 2.1. https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/mena/publication/waste-management-in-the-middle-east-and-north-africa

[2] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). “Food Loss and Waste Reduction in the Near East and North Africa.” FAO regional technical platform, accessed November 11, 2026. Reports that almost 15% of food produced in NENA is lost between post-harvest and retail, and that 75–163 kg per capita is wasted at retail and household levels annually. https://www.fao.org/platform-food-loss-waste/regions/neareast/en

[3] United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Regional Office for West Asia. The State of Food Waste in West Asia. 2021. The 12-country assessment reports that approximately 34% of food served is wasted and estimates household food waste at 100–150 kg per capita. UNEP’s launch summary also notes research estimating 25–50% of food prepared during Ramadan is wasted. https://www.unep.org/resources/report/state-food-waste-west-asia

[4] United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Food Waste Index Report 2024. Nairobi: UNEP, March 2024. Provides updated global measurement guidance and discusses the measurement of food waste across retail, food-service and household sectors. https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/45230

[5] United Nations Statistics Division. SDG Indicator 12.3.1 Metadata: Food Loss Index and Food Waste Index. Updated November 4, 2025. Defines the separate measurement boundaries: the Food Loss Index covers losses from post-harvest through the supply chain up to, but excluding, retail; the Food Waste Index covers retail and consumption stages. The metadata also explains data limitations and the use of surveys, administrative records and modeled estimates. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/files/Metadata-12-03-01A.pdf

[6] World Bank. “Q&A: Waste Management in the MENA Region.” January 26, 2026. Provides a concise institutional summary of the report’s findings, including the US$60 billion annual food-waste cost, food-import dependence, and the potential savings associated with reducing waste generation. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/factsheet/2026/01/26/q-a-waste-management-in-the-mena-region

RESEARCH AND MEASUREMENT NOTE: The report uses the World Bank’s 2026 regional assessment as the principal source for the headline economic estimate. FAO and UNEP sources are used to explain different points in the supply chain and to provide regional context. The UN SDG 12.3.1 framework separates food loss (upstream, before retail) from food waste (retail and consumption). This distinction is essential: combining figures from different stages, geographies or years can produce misleading totals. Where country-level estimates are unavailable, this report identifies regional study findings as regional estimates rather than national facts.

EDITORIAL DATA NOTE: Regional estimates vary by geography, year, food category, supply-chain stage and measurement method. The World Bank’s 19% and 75–130 kg figures refer to combined food loss and food waste; FAO’s approximately 15% figure refers to losses from post-harvest through retail; and FAO’s 75–163 kg estimate concerns waste at retail and household levels. UNEP’s 34% figure concerns food served in the 12 West Asian countries covered by its 2021 assessment. These indicators are not directly interchangeable. Country-level comparisons should use nationally measured baselines and clearly stated definitions.