Food Balance Sheets

Background

A food balance sheet presents a comprehensive picture of the pattern of a country's food supply during a specified reference period. The food balance sheet shows for each food item i.e. each primary commodity and a number of processed commodities potentially available for human consumption the sources of supply and its utilization.

The total quantity of foodstuffs produced in a country added to the total quantity imported and adjusted to any change in stocks that may have occurred since the beginning of the reference period gives the supply available during that period. On the utilization side a distinction is made between the quantities exported, fed to livestock, used for seed, put to manufacture for food use and other uses, losses during storage and transportation, and food supplies available for human consumption. The per caput supply of each such food item available for human consumption is then obtained by dividing the respective quantity by the related data on the population actually partaking of it. Data on per caput food supplies are expressed in terms of quantity and by applying appropriate food composition factors for all primary and processed products also in terms of caloric value and protein and fat content.

Annual food balance sheets tabulated regularly over a period of years will show the trends in the overall national food supply, disclose changes that may have taken place in the types of food consumed, i.e. the pattern of the diet, and reveal the extent to which the food supply of the country, as a whole, is adequate in relation to nutritional requirements.

By bringing together the larger part of the food and agricultural data in each country, food balance sheets also serve in the detailed examination and appraisal of the food and agricultural situation in a country. A comparison of the quantities of food available for human consumption with those imported will indicate the extent to which a country depends upon imports (import dependency ratio). The amount of food crops used for feeding livestock in relation to total crop production indicates the degree to which primary food resources are used to produce animal feed which is useful to know when analysing livestock policies or patterns of agriculture. Data on per caput food supplies serve as a major element for the projection of food demand, together with other elements, such as income elasticity coefficients, projections of private consumption expenditure and of population.

It is important to note that the quantities of food available for human consumption, as estimated in the food balance sheet, relate simply to the quantities of food reaching the consumer.

However, the amount of food actually consumed may be lower than the quantity shown in the food balance sheet depending on the degree of losses of edible food and nutrients in the household, e.g. during storage, in preparation and cooking (which affect vitamins and minerals to a greater extent than they do calories, protein and fat), as plate waste or quantities fed to domestic animals and pets, or thrown away.

Food balance sheets do not give any indication of the differences that may exist in the diet consumed by different population groups, e.g. different socioeconomic groups, ecological zones and geographical areas within a country; neither do they provide information on seasonal variations in the total food supply. To obtain a complete picture, food consumption surveys showing the distribution of the national food supply at various times of the year among different groups of the population should be conducted.

Accuracy of food balance sheets
The accuracy of food balance sheets, which are in essence derived statistics, is of course dependent on the reliability of the underlying basic statistics of population, supply and utilization of foods and of their nutritive value. These vary a great deal between countries, both in terms of coverage as well as in accuracy. In fact, there are many gaps particularly in the statistics of utilization for nonfood purposes, such as feed, seed and manufacture, as well as in those of farm, commercial and even government stocks. To overcome the former difficulty, estimates were prepared in FAO while the effect of the absence of statistics on stocks is considered to be reduced by preparing the food balance sheets as an average for a three year period. But even the production and trade statistics on which the accuracy of food balance sheets depends most are, in many cases, subject to improvement through the organization of appropriate statistical field surveys. Furthermore, there are very few surveys so far known on which to base sound figures for waste, and in some cases also these are subject to significant margins of error.

In most cases, the assumptions for waste used in food balance sheets are based on expert opinion obtained in the countries. The available statistics being what they are, considerable use had to be made in the preparation of the food balance sheets of evaluation techniques provided by consistency checks. Internal consistency checks are inherent in the accounting technique of the food balance sheet itself. Even more important are external consistency checks based on related supplementary information, such as the results of surveys conducted in various parts of the world as well as relevant technical, nutritional and economic expertise.

It is believed that the food balance sheets so prepared, while often being far from satisfactory in the proper statistical sense, provide an approximate picture of the overall food situation in the countries which may be used for economic and nutritional studies, the preparation of development plans and the formulation of related projects, as in fact is being done in the FAO.

Concepts and definitions used in food balance sheets

Commodity coverage
As already indicated, all potentially edible commodities should, in principle, be taken into account in preparing food balance sheets regardless of whether they are actually eaten or used for nonfood purposes. The commodity list in this publication has been generally confined to primary commodities except for sugar, oils and fats and beverages. Whenever possible trade in processed commodities is expressed in the originating primary commodity equivalent. A list of commodities and their classification into major food groups, prepared by FAO for food balance sheet purposes, is shown at the end of this Note.

Supply and utilization elements
Production. In principle, production figures relate to the total domestic production whether inside or outside the agricultural sector, i.e. it includes noncommercial production and production from kitchen gardens. Unless otherwise indicated, production is reported at the farm level for crop and livestock products (i.e. in the case of crops, excluding harvesting losses) and in terms of live weight for fish items (i.e. the actual exwater weight at the time of the catch). As a general rule, all data on meat are expressed in terms of carcass weight.

Imports
In principle, this covers all movements into the country of the commodity in question. It includes commercial trade, food aid granted on specific terms, donated quantities and estimates of unrecorded trade. As a general rule, figures are reported in terms of net weight, i.e. excluding the weight of the container.

Stock changes
In principle, this heading comprises changes in stocks occurring during the reference period at all levels between the production and the retail levels, i.e. it comprises changes in government stocks, in stocks with manufacturers, importers, exporters, other wholesale and retail merchants, transport and storage enterprises and in stocks on farms. In actual fact, however, the information available often relates only to stocks held by governments and even these are not available for a number of countries and important commodities. For this reason food balance sheets are usually prepared as an average of several years since this is believed to reduce the degree of inaccuracy contributed by the absence of information on stocks. In the absence of information on opening and closing stocks changes in stocks are also used for shifting production from the calendar year in which it is harvested to the year in which it is consumed. Net decreases in stocks are generally indicated by the sign "". No sign denotes net increases.

Exports
In principle, this covers all movements out of the country of the commodity in question during the reference period. Remarks made above under Imports apply by analogy.

Domestic supply
There are various ways of defining supply and, in fact, various concepts are in use. The elements involved are production, imports, exports and changes in stocks (increases or decreases). There is no doubt that production, imports and decreases in stocks are genuine supply elements. Exports and increases in stocks might, however, be considered as utilization elements. Accordingly, the following are possible ways of defining supply: Production + imports + decrease in stocks = total supply Production + imports + changes in stocks (decrease or increase) = supply available for export and domestic utilization Production + imports exports + changes in stocks (decrease or increase) = supply for domestic utilization. This concept is used also in this document.

Feed
This comprises the amounts of the commodity in question and of edible commodities derived therefrom not shown separately in the food balance sheet fed to livestock during the reference period, whether domestically produced or imported.

Seed
In principle, this comprises all amounts of the commodity in question used during the reference period for reproductive purposes, such as seed, sugar cane planted, eggs for hatching and fish for bait, whether domestically produced or imported. Whenever official data were not available, seed figures have been estimated either as a percentage of supply (e.g. eggs for hatching) or by multiplying a seed rate with the area under the crop of the subsequent year. In those cases where part of the crop is harvested green (e.g. cereals for direct feed or silage, green peas, green beans), account has been taken of the area under the crop harvested green.

Food manufacture
The amounts of the commodity in question used during the reference period for manufacture of processed commodities which could not be converted back to their originating primary commodities or which are part of a separate food group (e.g. sugar, fats and oils, alcoholic beverages) are shown here. The processed products do not always appear in the same food group. While oilseeds are shown under Oilcrops, the respective oil is shown under the group Vegetable oils; similarly, butter is under Animal fats and not under Milk.

Waste and other uses
Waste comprises the amounts of the commodity in question and of the commodities derived therefrom not further pursued in the food balance sheet, lost through waste at all stages between the level at which production is recorded and the household, i.e. waste in processing, storage and transportation. Losses occurring before and during harvest are excluded. Waste from both edible and inedible parts of the commodity occurring in the household is also excluded. Technical losses occurring during the transformation of primary commodities into processed products are taken into account in the assessment of respective extraction/conversion rates. Other uses comprise quantities of commodities used for manufacture for nonfood purposes, e.g. oil for soap, and statistical discrepancies. In order not to distort the picture of the national food pattern, quantities of the commodities in question, consumed mainly by tourists, are included here (see also Per caput supply).

Food
This comprises the amounts of the commodity in question and of any commodity derived therefrom not further pursued in the food balance sheet, available for human consumption during the reference period. Food from maize, for example, comprises the amount of maize, maize meal and any other products derived therefrom available for human consumption. Food from milk relates to the amounts of milk as such, as well as the fresh milk equivalent of dairy products, except butter.

Per caput supply
The columns under this heading give estimates of per caput food supplies available for human consumption during the reference period in terms of quantity, caloric value and protein and fat content. Calorie supplies are reported in kilocalories. The traditional unit of calories is being retained for the time being until the proposed kilojoule gains wider acceptance and understanding (1 calorie = 4.19 kilojoules).

Per caput supplies in terms of product weight are derived from the total supplies available for human consumption (i.e. Food) by dividing the quantities of Food by the total population actually partaking of the food supplies during the reference period, i.e. the present inarea (de facto) population within the present geographical boundaries of the country. In other words, nationals living abroad during the reference period are excluded, but foreigners living in the country are included. Adjustments are made wherever possible for part-time presence or absence, such as temporary migrants, tourists and refugees supported by special schemes (if it has not been possible to allow for the amounts provided by such schemes under imports). In almost all cases, the population figures used are the midyear estimates published by the United Nations Population Division. Per caput supply figures shown in the food balance sheets therefore represent only the average supply available for the population as a whole and do not necessarily indicate what is actually consumed by individuals. Even if they are taken as approximation to per caput consumption, it is important to bear in mind that there could be considerable variation in consumption between individuals.

In many cases commodities are not consumed in the primary form in which they are presented in the standardized food balance sheet, e.g. cereals enter the household mainly in processed form like flour, meal, husked or milled rice. To take this fact into account, the caloric value and the protein and fat content shown against primary commodities in the food balance sheets have been derived by applying the appropriate food composition factors to the quantities of the processed commodities and not by multiplying the quantities shown in the food balance sheet with the food composition factors relating to primary commodities.

For calories, protein and fat, a grand total and its breakdown into components of vegetable and animal origin are shown at the beginning of each food balance sheet. In addition, subtotals are shown for the various commodity groups.