Postharvest Pest Losses

Worldwide average foodgrains losses have been put at 5% due to insects, 2% for rodents, and 5–30% for molds and mycotoxins (2). Losses due to pests are invariably more with on-farm than off-farm (central and commercial) storages. In the developed countries, losses have been generally at 1% while 10–30% losses have been reported in the developing countries (3). Meteorological conditions favorable for pest proliferation, absence of incentives for quality, and lack of resources and expertise are some of the factors contributing to the higher loss (4). Postharvest losses in foodgrains due to pests varied from 0.2 to 8% in China, < 3% in India, and 0.5 to 30% in some countries in Africa and Asia. Postharvest spoilage of grains due to fungi and aflatoxins has been estimated to be 3.6% in China and about 5% each in Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand (5). In Canada, foodgrains losses due to insect, mites, and fungi have been reported as 0.5% valued at US $17 million. However, the estimated annual financial losses (direct and indirect losses) ranged from $135 to 380 million (6). In Australia, the annual crop losses due to mice in some states since 1990 have been estimated at AU $26 million (7).