Postharvest Losses Along the Small‐Scale Fish Value Chain in Bangladesh: Perceptions, Determinants and Implications for Food Security

Reducing postharvest losses (PHL) is a key pathway to achieving sustainable development goals, particularly food and nutrition security, in developing countries like Bangladesh. A slim body of literature assessing fish PHL indicates significant variation in estimates of loss across value chain actors and regions. We analyze a combination of questionnaire loss assessment method (QLAM) and sensory evaluations based on PHL from different value chain actors: farmers and traders, and perceived causes for losses by the VC actors, including consumers, based on a survey of farmers, traders, and consumers from northeast Bangladesh, one of the freshwater fish-producing hubs in Bangladesh. PHL results indicate that average PHL, including physical, quality, and market losses, incurred about 10% and 12% at the farmer and trader levels, respectively. Causes of postharvest fish losses in the study area include unfavorable weather conditions, including high temperatures; lack of storage facilities; spoilage; poor fish handling practices; volatile demand and supply; long waiting times; communication gaps between actors; and inefficiencies at collection points. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and fractional probit regression results show that those who are younger, highly educated, more experienced, trained, and members of professional associations, have knowledge of cooling methods, sold their fish in short-distance markets, and used better transport facilities incurred significantly less PHL. Therefore, to reduce fish PHL along the value chain and thereby ensure food security and nutrition, the government should invest in infrastructural facilities, including roads, markets, and storage for the small-scale fisheries sector, and provide training on fish handling and PHL reduction strategies throughout the fish value chain in Bangladesh.