The BRICS of 2026 is very different from the grouping formed in 2009. With the addition of Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the bloc has become larger and more diverse.
As India takes over the BRICS 2026 Chairmanship, an important but often-ignored issue is food loss, which is now entering global policy discussions. The world usually focuses on how much food is produced? But an equally important question is how much food is lost before it reaches the consumers? The BRICS Member Countries together produce nearly 42% of the global food. They include some of the world’s largest producers, consumers and agricultural markets. Yet millions of tonnes of food are lost every year across farms, storage systems, transport networks, processing units, retail outlets and households.
At a time of rising food prices, climate stress, and supply chain disruptions, reducing food loss is no longer only an agricultural issue. It is also an economic, environmental and strategic priority. India’s decision to place food loss and waste on the BRICS agenda is, therefore, timely and significant.
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Divergent realities of expanding BRICS
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The BRICS of 2026 is very different from the grouping formed in 2009. With the addition of Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the bloc has become larger and more diverse. It now represents very different agricultural systems and food economies. Ethiopia depends heavily on smallholder and rain-fed farming. Russia is one of the world’s major grain exporters. Indonesia is a fast-growing urban food market. The UAE depends heavily on food imports and a large hospitality sector. These differences not only make policy coordination more complex, but they also create an opportunity for deeper South-South cooperation.
Distinct losses amid shared challenges
Food loss across BRICS follows a broad pattern. However, the reasons differ across countries due to their geographic locations, income levels, infrastructure, institutions and market systems. In countries such as Ethiopia, India, and Iran, food losses happen mainly at the farm and post-harvest stages. Agriculture in these countries depends largely on smallholder farmers. Landholdings are often fragmented. Production is often rainfed. Rural roads, storage systems, mechanisation and access to affordable finance are still limited in many of these areas. As a result, grains, pulses, fruits, vegetables and other perishables are often damaged or lost before they reach the organised markets.
In middle-income economies, such as Brazil, China, South Africa and Indonesia, agriculture is more commercialised.
However, significant losses occur at the processing, transport, logistics and retail levels. Insufficient cold chains, long transport distances and poor coordination between producers and markets increase inefficiencies. Whereas in high-income countries, such as the UAE and Russia, infrastructure is stronger. Supply chains are better organised. In such cases, food waste occurs mainly at supermarkets, hotels, restaurants and households.
Despite these differences, the BRICS countries share three major challenges. First, food loss results in significant economic losses. In India alone, ₹1.53 trillion in post-harvest losses of crops and allied produce have been incurred annually between 2020 and 2022. In Ethiopia, such annual losses exceed 12 million tonnes, comprising 20-30% in grains, 30-50% in horticultural crops, and 40% in the milk and meat sector. In Indonesia, annual food loss exceeds 20 million tonnes, while in Brazil, it is about 60 kg/person/year. Second, most BRICS countries still lack reliable, comparable estimates of where food is being lost. Losses may occur on farms, in storage, during transport or at the consumer level. Without accurate and timely data, targeted investments may not be effective. Third, many solutions already exist within the BRICS, but they are not being systematically shared. China has legalised efforts to reduce food losses and waste through the Anti-Food Waste law and promotes agricultural mechanisation, thereby reducing losses at various stages of the value chain.
Brazil addresses the issue through a network of 194 food banks and an operational strategy to reduce food losses. Indonesia, via an operational food rescue strategy aimed at redistributing edible surplus to vulnerable communities while converting inedible waste into agricultural resources. India invested heavily in cold chains and rural warehousing to reduce food losses. Moreover, South Africa has developed mobile cold storage units and built food redistribution systems. The real gap is not in technology. It lies in cooperation.
What can the current BRICS negotiations deliver?
The current BRICS Agricultural Working Group can turn declarations into action by creating a common BRICS system for regularly measuring food loss and waste. Better data will help countries identify where losses are highest, where investments are needed and how member countries can capitalise on BRICS cooperation to address their challenges.
Further, creating country-specific action plans on FLW reduction could be a more differentiated but coherent approach, as a single target may not work for all members. Ethiopia may focus on storage infrastructure. China may strengthen enforcement of food waste laws through improving accountability, establishing an integrated food-chain governance mechanism, and transitioning from government-led regulation to a collaborative multi-stakeholder governance framework. The UAE may improve hotel and restaurant reporting. India lacks a single consolidated piece of legislation on FLW, despite recent efforts in 2019 and 2022. Therefore, India can legalise it through legislation. Moreover, building a structured South-South knowledge platform could help countries share technologies, policy experiences, storage systems, digital tools and food redistribution models.
An opportunity to lead
The BRICS are becoming more influential in global food systems. It is well placed to connect smallholder farming, public food systems and expanding consumer markets. It also has practical experience in storage, digital agriculture and food distribution. If the current negotiations help BRICS move from dialogue to measurable action, the benefits could be substantial. In a world facing rising geopolitical uncertainties and climatic risks, turning food loss and waste into a shared BRICS priority agenda may not be the most obvious diplomatic achievement, but it might become one of the most economically significant. The affirmation by all BRICS members and participants in the current FLW dialogue reiterates their common commitment to addressing the issue.
Dr. Jaiprakash Bisen a Scientist, and Dr. Shiv Kumar is Director (Acting) at the ICAR-National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research, New Delhi. The views expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Institute.
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