Jinan conference to seek global unity in fight against food waste

China will hold an international conference in Shandong province to bolster global cooperation in curbing food waste.

The three-day International Conference on Food Loss and Waste will open on Thursday in Jinan, the provincial capital, said Ma Youxiang, vice-minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

The event will showcase waste-curbing efforts throughout the food production and storage process as well as the country's knowledge of agricultural equipment, breeding and the application of the internet of things in the sector, he said during a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

The event will be attended by agricultural ministers from a number of G20 members, including Italy, the United States, Britain, France and Indonesia, as well as diplomats, scholars and international companies from other countries, Ma said.

The event helps build global consensus in curbing food loss and waste, bolster the resilience of world's food security and contribute to the "zero hunger" target that the United Nations set for 2030 in its sustainable development goals, he said.

Ma said China's grain output was 669.5 million metric tons last year, the sixth consecutive year that it remained above the 650-million-ton bench mark.

Global output was roughly 2.8 billion tons, and if the waste is reduced by 1 percentage point, 28 million tons of food will be saved, enough to sustain 70 million people for a year, he said.