This project aimed to reduce waste throughout the Australian banana supply chain and enhance industry profitability by developing the Banana Industry Sector Action Plan for Food Waste Reduction (Banana Industry SAP). This initiative is a component of the broader Horticulture Sector Action Plan for Food Waste Reduction (Hort SAP). 

Challenge  

Food waste costs the Australian economy $36.6 billion annually, with 7.5 million tonnes wasted across the supply chain, contributing to three per cent of national greenhouse gas emissions and usage of 2600 gigalitres of water and 25 million hectares of agricultural land  

A recent ABARE’s survey further indicated that banana farms, on average, experience a crop wastage rate of 28.6 per cent per farm nationally. Due to the high perishability and short shelf life of bananas, significant degradation occurs during harvest and post-harvest handling, leading to wastage.  

In line with the Australian Government’s (2017) goal to halve annual food waste by 2030, this project sought to address this issue.   

Response  

The project adopted a mixed methods approach comprising a literature review, stakeholder interviews, and group workshops. These efforts pinpointed key hotspots and root causes of waste in the banana supply chain and proposed actionable solutions. The findings were consolidated into the Banana Industry Sector Action Plan for Food Waste Reduction for Food Waste Reduction 2024, which includes indicators for evaluating the impacts and outcomes of the proposed actions using a waste monitoring and evaluation framework. 

Nine strategies were identified, including four supporting preventions, two for repurposing food waste and three for enabling the environment.  

Benefit  

The project established a vision for increased profitability, increased supply chain resilience, and improved environmental outcomes through reducing food waste, while recognising challenges in the production, processing, and distribution stages of the banana supply chain. It produced a technical and summary report, along with stakeholder engagement sessions.  

The Banana Industry SAP was co-designed with key stakeholders to address food waste hotspots and implement reduction measures across the supply chain. Input providers, farmers, packaging, processing and distribution companies, and retailers are now informed and empowered to take effective food waste reduction actions.  

The project enhanced transparency about where and why food waste occurs, provided insights to inform intervention, and encouraged businesses to commit to waste reductions in their operations.  It also identified opportunities for waste repurposing such as using low-grade bananas for other products and promoted food waste management aligned with the food recovery hierarchy. 

With the goal of reducing current food waste by 50 per cent over the period of the action plan, the project is: