Postharvest losses of fruits and vegetables in Tunisia

Transcription

1 Postharvest losses fruits and vegetables Tunisia Kacem B. Gerasopoulos D. (ed.). Post-harvest losses perishable horticultural products the Mediterranean region Chania : CHEAM Cahiers Options Méditerranéennes; n pages Article available on le / Article disponible en ligne à l adresse : To cite this article / Pour citer cet article Kacem B. Postharvest losses fruits and vegetables Tunisia. n : Gerasopoulos D. (ed.). Postharvest losses perishable horticultural products the Mediterranean region. Chania : CHEAM, p (Cahiers Options Méditerranéennes; n. 42)

2 CHEAM - Options Mediterraneennes POSTHARVEST LOSSES OF FRUTS AND VEGETABLES N TUNSA * Béchir Chemgi Lamio, Ecole Supérieure d'horticulture Chott-Mariemflunisia 5ACKGROUND Tunisia is located is easily accessible sea 163, km east, and land its is a not 1500 mm mm which than one half times. due Seasonal the at the sixties, an (an that was abandoned 1969)) have existed side "Office des with spite (Unit = 1.OOOt). the Tunisiahaswitnessed a 1 and 2 showthe Tunisia

3 CHEAM - Options Mediterraneennes Table 1. (unit = 1 t) Olives Apples Source: Budget Economique, 1993 Table 2. (unit = 1 t) Tomatoes Onions 130 l Source: Budget Economique, 1993 One the is the case contug to pay dividends, and at leasthe mimum adequate feedg such as: on its population a Control population growth Tunisia has one Tunisia to high (2.1%) supply food: is a

4 CHEAM - Options Mediterraneennes hod wastage: food wastage as a food is the United Nations: - food men labor every year to produce, only to see it taken f rats, sects or spoiled a hundred different ways. The figures and estimates fly around 10% here, 50% there, 28% the world a whole, and almost every figure h,as its firmsupporters anditsequallyresolute opponents. About the onlythgthatis generally agreed upon is that the losses are enormous and if modern storage and pest control techniques were available on a wider scale, we would have many millions tons extra food available for to eat each year without plantg an extra hectare. To no the the significant losses As we have mentioned, Tunisia, sce 1969, that exist side side. The the 1). 1 GOVMMTFARMS -b PACKNGHOUSE RETAL MARKET V rcogumer1 Fig 1. Food 30 one unit used maly (tomato and and 30 low.

5 CHEAM - Options Mediterraneennes stance, 1992, this sector produced about 14% the total production apples and only 4,2% and 2,4% respectively for citrus and pears. Figure 2 summarizes the food distribution system used the private sector. PRVATE FARMS 1 q' R STORAGE SELFCONSUMPTO PACKNGHOUSE L/ y' WHOLESALE MARKET V RETAL MARKET Fig 2. Food Distribution System for the Private Sector. Total Production 5750 Tons 260T (4,5%) / J Cold room Storage T Wholesale Market 3127T 5 to 10% Losses "/1 Fig Percent Loss for Apples 152

6 CHEAM - Options Mediterraneennes There is no significant difference between Government and private sectors.the major difference is that the private sector is usg maly traditional storage the field. Data shows only abort 20% the farmers around the village Chott-Mariem are usg cold room facilities. The remag 80% store their agricultural produce their farms, usg traditional ways. The storage period is reported to vary between 3 to 6 months and the % loss is estimated to be around 30% for potatoes. The examation both food distribution systems shows that postharvest losses may occur at different levels from the production pot to the consumer. Statistical data gathered the Governmental Sector Central Office gave the followg figures apples and pears produced durg the 1992 season.(seefig. 3)..! Figure 3 shows that the total production apples the Government sector durg the season 1992 was 5750 metric tons, 2460 tons were stored cold rooms and 3127 tons were sent to the wholesale market. This gives us a total the field 143 tons representg 2,5% the total production. After the storage period, only 2220 tons were sent to the wholesale market and 260 tons were lost durg the storagerepresentg 43% the total production. Therefore,the total loss from farm to the wholesale market is around 7% the total production. Available data on the percent loss at the wholesale market are registered for the total amount fruits and vegetables brought to the market and not for dividual commodity. These percentages losses are summarized the followg table a monthly base). Table Losses fruits and vegetables at the wholesale market Bir El Kassaa (Unit = tons) Amountbrought to the Seized W.S.M. Not sold Lost February Legumes Fruits 44 0,6 March Legumes or Fruits August Legumes O 1992 Fruits September Legumes , Fruits Even though, the percent total loss is less than % most cases, the losses from the Government sector are reported to be much higher than those from the private sector. The average figure taken from several distributors fall between 10 to 15%. The higher reported for the Government sector may be explaed several factors such as the behavior some workers towards the product, brutal handlg, carelessness and lack motivation. Similar figures were found with pears as illustrated the followg chart.

7 CHEAM - Options Mediterraneennes l Total Production 603 Tons Cold room Storage l 1 Wholesale 178 T 5 T (O,$%) Wholesale 382 T l Fig 4. Percent Loss for Pears The Tunisian Government is aware the bad performance its sector and is now modifyg its policy towards it. That is whywesee more and more farms are transferred to the private sector on a rental basis. The policy is that the end 1994, all farms should be private hands. The causes for the losses fruits and vegetables are multiple. Besides the uncontrollable causes, maly related to weather conditions suchas flood, heat, wd, hailstorm etc., there are many other causes that can be prevented if proper measures ere taken at optimum time. On can mention a recent study conducted Driouchi, 1990, where he emphasized the importance losses ( Dollars) caused the Mediterranean fruit fly "Ceratite". The annual loss estimated is about 3,6 million dollars (Table 4). Table 4. Economic losses caused "Ceratite Fly" Fruits Loss at production level at market level Loss at export level Total loss Citrus 1.O Peach Pea r 20 O 375 Apple Apricot O Plum Fig Others

8 CHEAM - Options Mediterraneennes CONCLUSONS As conclusion it canbesaid that postharvestlossesfruits and vegetables are significantly high Tunisia. Even though there are no specific studies on the estimation and the extent the loss, there are significant amount data available that needs to be analyzed and further explored. These data may dicate a beiter estimation loss. Significant losses occur the field an durg storage. Cold rooms though available, are not used at their maximum capacity. Some wholesale markets have cold rooms that are rarely used for storg agricultural products. High rental cost and lack trust made private farmers prefer the traditional ways storage. These has led to significant losses. The loss is more important the Government sector. This may be explaed lack motivation, low salary, brutal handlg produce, ignorance etc. Transportation non-refrigerated open trucks, bags stead boxes are also some the actors contributg to the high loss between farms and wholesale markets. REFERENCES Mistere de l'agriculture Budget Economique Chteoui, Avantage economique de la conservation des produits agricoles. Memoire de f d'etudes. Ecole Superiore d' Horticulture Chott-Mariem, Tunisia. Centre de Recherche et Developpement Agricole de Sousse Sfatisfique des apports au moche de gros de Sousse. Situation annuelle Fruits et Legumes. Food and Agriculture Organization Bullet des services agricoles de (FAO/PNUE), Prevention des pertes de denrees perissables. FAO. Groupement nterpressionnel des Agrumes et des Fruits, Rapport d' activite. Office des Terres Domaniales. 193 Rapport sur les Agrumes