How Wilmar's Subsidiaries Are Tackling Food Loss and Waste
Food
More than a third of the world’s food production – over US$1 trillion worth of food – is lost or wasted annually, according to estimates by the United Nations Environment Programme. Food loss and waste occur at different points across the food value chain: nearly a quarter (19%) of the world’s food is wasted at the grocery, restaurant and household levels, while 13% is lost before it even reaches stores and consumers. Globally, food loss and waste account for about 8-10% of greenhouse gas emissions.
The scale of food loss and waste also sits alongside persistent challenges in food security. An estimated 645 million people, mostly in Africa and Asia, faced hunger while more than a quarter of the world’s population, about 2.1 billion people, experienced food insecurity in 2025.
Reducing food loss and waste therefore requires action at multiple points, from how food is sourced and processed to how it is stored, distributed and consumed. Across Wilmar’s businesses, subsidiaries are taking practical steps to reduce food loss and waste and make better use of food and resources.
Yihai Kerry Arawana (YKA) and Goodman Fielder are two examples of how these efforts are being put into practice across different parts of the value chain and in different markets.
How YKA saves food at every step
YKA's Clean Plate campaign encourages people to eat all the food on their plates.
In line with Wilmar’s policies and programmes, YKA, a leading food manufacturer in China, works to reduce food loss and waste across its value chain. The company carefully manages how it sources, stores, processes, distributes and donates food to minimise wastage through various measures:
How Goodman Fielder Fights Food Waste
Goodman Fielder, a leading food manufacturer in Oceania, voluntarily track its progress in reducing food waste across its operations. Its initiatives include:
Since becoming a founding signatory of the Australian Food Pact in 2021, Goodman Fielder Australia has been submitting its annual food waste data for review and industry benchmarking. During this period, it has lowered food waste at its manufacturing facilities from between 5.0 and 6.0% to 2.4%.
Its efforts have also contributed to reductions across its supply chain in other markets. In 2025, Goodman Fielder reduced food waste in its New Zealand supply chain by 39.0% and at its Fiji operational sites by 71.8%, compared to a 2022 baseline.
Food donations by Goodman Fielder Fiji
Tackling Food Loss and Waste from Farm to Fork
The examples from YKA and Goodman Fielder illustrate how food loss and waste can be addressed at different points across the value chain.
At the production stage, this includes better demand forecasting, efficient manufacturing and the productive use of by-products. Further along the value chain, measures such as safe storage and transportation, appropriate packaging and food donations can help prevent edible food from being wasted. At the consumer level, product sizing, serving information and initiatives that encourage people to make use of leftovers can help reduce household food waste.
These efforts contribute to the broader ambition of Target 12.3 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which aims 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, by 2030.
Reducing food loss and waste is a shared challenge that requires action across the food system. By identifying opportunities to prevent waste, make better use of surplus food and engage consumers, businesses can contribute to efforts to use food and resources more efficiently and reduce avoidable food loss and waste.