"In 2021, the EU imported almost 138 million tonnes of agricultural products from outside of its borders, worth a total of 150 billion euros [$150 billion]. These imports are eclipsed by the amount of food — 153.5 million tonnes — that is wasted in the EU each year," Feedback EU said in a report.
Russia and Ukraine provide a significant part of the global grain market, while recent research shows that the amount of wheat wasted in the EU is about half of Ukraine's wheat exports and a quarter of other grain exports, the report added.
According to the organization, reducing food waste will enable EU member states to meet the 12.3 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) and improve food security.
The SDGs, adopted in September 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly, include 17 sustainable goals and 169 targets that should be met by 2030 and are designed "to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all." The 12.3 SDG seeks to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.