Extent, Causes and Reduction Strategies of Postharvest Losses of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables – A Review

Proper postharvest handling of food produces is more important than the intensive and extensive farming in securing food for a nation, because losses are not only a waste of food but also they represent a similar waste of human effort, farm inputs, livelihoods, investments and scarce recourses such as water. Postharvest losses of horticultural crops in general and fresh fruits and vegetables (perishables) in particular are very common problems in developing countries, like Ethiopia, which has a negative impact on the food security program. This is partly because of their perishable nature, lack of knowledge and shortage of capital. The other reason is that most of these perishables are produced by small-scale farmers those who have limited knowledge and financially poor in the developing countries. Therefore, estimation of postharvest losses of fresh fruits and vegetables is highly important for awareness creation to manage the produce properly so as to save from spoilage and damages by physical and physiological means. The objectives of this review are, therefore, to assess the available literatures on the postharvest losses of fresh fruits and vegetables in an attempt to identify priority areas of the problem; to identify the causes of losses of perishables in order to avoid the causes for the reduction of losses; and to identify the possible strategies that can reduce losses and maintain quality of the commodities during the period. Keywords: Fresh fruits and vegetables, perishables, postharvest loss