1. Food Balance Sheets
Introduction to Food Balance Sheets

2. Learning objectives At the end of this session, the audience will:
Know the historical background of the FBS framework
Understand the basic SUA/FBS equation
Be informed about some of the potential uses of FBS
Be aware of the major caution on FBS interpretation and of the fundamental principles of FBS construction

3. Outline Overview History Definition of SUA and FBS Potential Uses
Caution in interpreting FBS estimates
Fundamental principles of FBS construction

4. 1. Overview
Global recognition that statistically sound, reliable data on food and agriculture is needed
e.g. to understand the current situation of agriculture and food supplies within any given country, track progress against established development goals, and inform future evidence-based policy decisions.
Goal of this training: provide developing countries with the methodological framework and tools to compile high-quality food balance sheets (FBS) for crop and livestock products.
Although fishery products are not covered in these Guidelines, the same general guidance would apply in constructing fishery product balance sheets. However, specific issues related to imputation and estimation of fish catch, loss, and trade are not covered here.

5. 2. History World War I: first attempts at preparing FBS
1936: preparation of a systematic international comparison of food consumption data (requested by the League of Nations Mixed Committee on the Problem of Nutrition - Sub-Committee on Nutritional Statistics)
: 1st intensive use of FBS to analyze the food security situation after the World War II
1948: FAO Conference encouraged governments to develop their own FBS with FAO assistance
1: World War I : FBS were the major source of data
3: FBS became more and more important in the context of the Marshal Plan, as it was a useful tool to assess the amount of food available in Europe.

6. 2. History
1949: printing of the Handbook for the Preparation of Food Balance Sheets
FBS were published for 41 countries and since then it’s regularly prepared and published
1957: for methodological reasons, it was decided to publish three-year average FBS (instead of annual)
1977: food balance sheets for 162 countries
table of per caput food supplies showed [cal., prot., fat] the supply by food groups of selected minerals and vitamins

7. 2. History
≈ 2015: intensive focus of finalizing the revised FBS methodology.
Same overall framework, but important innovations.
Main changes:
Updating the overall approach solve the balance (more refined)
Updating/refining the imputation methods of the FBS components – harness links between the various FBS variables/elements and information from outside the FBS
e.g. the new feed use imputation method (animal number, type of breeding…)
More accuracy with the various variables
e.g. other utilization  tourist food, other utilizations
Less discretion of the compiler
International classifications adopted (FCL replaced by CPC and HS)
a) The revised approach tries to overcome the fundamental problem of identifying one single variable as the balancing item.
c) Tourist food : data on tourists are now available.

8. 3. Definition of SUA and FBS
The FBS is a national accounting/statistical framework, presenting a comprehensive picture of the pattern of a country's food supply during a specified reference period.
SUPPLY = UTILIZATION
P + I - dSt = X + Fo + Fe + Se + T + IU + Lo + ROU
(+ food processing)
Where:
P = production
I = imports
dSt = Δ stocks
Fo = food
Fe = feed
Fe = feed
Se= seed
T= tourist food
IU= industrial use
Lo= loss
Rou= residual or other uses

9. 3. Definition of SUA and FBS
FBSs are derived from the SUAs
SUA
SUA : Supply Utilization Account
The balance is compiled for every food item consumed within a country
stand.
Commodities are converted in their primary commodity equivalent and aggregated
FBS
Primary commodity equivalent balances are combined in to one FBS
Validation &
Balancing
SUAs include:
≈ 60 primary commodities (making up 99% of the total caloric intake)
≈ 600 processed commodities
Validation &
Balancing

10. 3. Definition of SUA and FBS
Population
Per capita:
Quantity
Calories
Proteins
Fats
Food component
Dietary Energy Supply (DES)
Food conversion factors

11. 3. Definition of SUA and FBS

12. 3. Definition of SUA and FBS
The SUA/FBS is an analytical dataset that :
shows the sources of supply and its utilization for each food item (SUA) or food group (FBS);
provides the availability for human consumption;
shows the changes in the types of food consumed.

13. 3. Definition of SUA and FBS
Example of a sample blank SUA table for soybeans:
Product
Production
Imports
Exports
Stock change
Food
Food processing
Feed
Seed
Net Tourist Cons.
Industrial Use
Loss
Soybeans -
Oil of soybeans
Cake of soybeans
Soy sauce
Margarine & shortening
Hydrogenated oils and fats

14. 3. Definition of SUA and FBS
The two pillars of the SUA/FBS:
Production data (Annual production Questionnaire)
Trade data (COMTRADE)
Link on the FAOSTAT webpage:
Trade – Customs Offices (of almost all the countries) send their data to COMTRADE in NY. We get these data from COMTRADE (missing data are derived from mirror statistics).

15. 4. Potential Uses
Basis for policy analysis aimed at ensuring food security:
Estimate a country’s overall DES and macronutrient availability (proxy of food consumption)
Estimate the food shortages/surpluses
Estimate the amount of food aid
Determine the availability of a certain class of food
Analyze livestock policies (e.g. the degree to which primary food resources are used to produce animal feed)
1) Because FBS track overall food availability and not actual consumption, DES cannot be used as an estimate of how much nourishment the average resident is consuming, but rather as an indicator on whether or not sufficient food is available.
At the same time, in some developed countries, food availability has been used as a proxy for actual food consumption.

16. 4. Potential Uses Calculation of derived indicators:
Prevalence of Undernourishment (PoU)
Self-sufficiency ratio (SSR)
Import dependency ratio (IDR)
SSR =
Production
Production + Imports – Exports + Δ Stock
Note: Stock variations are not always taken into account in the denominator of the Self-sufficiency and Import dependency ratios.
“… more pragmatic understanding of food selfsufficiency is captured by what the FAO terms the self-sufficiency ratio (SSR), which is defined as the percentage of food consumed that is produced domestically (FAO, 2012). The SSR is measured using the following equation with respect to food production and trade: Production x 100 / (Production + Imports – Exports)
More precise measurements of the SSR also include changes in domestic stock levels (Puma et al., 2015). The SSR is typically measured in calories or in volume of food produced, although it can also be expressed as a ratio of monetary value.”
Source:
IDR =
Imports
Production + Imports -Exports + Δ Stock

17. 4. Potential Uses Statistical purposes:
Framework for data reconciliation (≠ sources)
Harmonization of data collection efforts
Data validation (supply and demand picture) - validate the national statistics
Improve National Account estimates (through the agricultural production measurement/estimation)
3. FBS is a useful tool to cross check the different variables.
For instance a country may collect different variables (production, utilization….) but when it put them together in the FBS framework the compiler discovers that they make no sense (e.g. supply is very high – maybe production data are overestimated?)
When I add the population, then I can make some additional check on the per capita food consumption, that should be quite stable over time.

18. 4. Potential Uses FBS data can be used as inputs in economic models
Means of comparing food availability (from FBS) and food consumption (from HH surveys)
e.g. to cross-check the data on food consumption (and vice versa)
e.g. as a proxy of food consumption in the absence of data.
Even though the 2 concepts are different, food availability can be used to cross-check the food consumption (and vice versa) or as a proxy of food consumption in the absence of data.
 In general f. availability (FBS) should be > f. consumption (HH surveys)

19. 4. Potential Uses Other potential uses:
Benchmarking (compare food availability across countries)
Comparing food availability across time
Track changes in dietary composition & growth of consumption in new products
Link to two SDG indicators (2.1.1 & )
2.1.1  PoU (through the DES)
 Global Food Loss Index (through the Loss component of the FBS)

20. 5. Caution in interpreting FBS estimates
" Food availability", not "food consumption" 
DES is likely to overestimate the amount of food actually consumed
FBS food availability takes into accounts all consumption within a country (HH, schools, hospitals….)
Average of food/nutrient availability (distribution among different groups of people is not considered)
Available dietary energy supplies can be described as apparent food consumption ≠ effective food consumption (which is the actual quantity of food consumed)
Food availability includes waste at the retail or HH level

21. 5. Caution in interpreting FBS estimates
Commodity Balances ≠ FBS
FBS : only food-related commodities (e.g. rubber is not included)
FBS : the quantity estimates of food must be reported in their caloric equivalent
FBS : contains aggregated estimates of both a primary commodity and all of its derived products (expressed at the primary commodity equivalent level)
many countries produce commodity balances for primary products, but do not account for goods derived from those primary products  underestimate total consumption

22. 6. Fundamental principles of FBS construction
Three basic principles to ensure that country-level FBS are (i) reproducible, (ii) coherent, and (iii) transparent:
Measurement first
 Countries should invest in improving measurement of input data.
Document data and process
Compilers should document data sources, applied methodologies and solutions to identified data inconsistencies
Feedback and collaboration
 Validation by multiple actors : opportunity to improve input data
In order to produce FBS that provide consistent & reliable estimates, it is important that key input data (on all supply and use variable) are measured in the most accurate way possible.
b) This will ensure that new compilers are able to produce estimates in a manner consistent with the previous data series + ensure that future users can understand the rational behind certain estimates.
c) The process should be a collaboration that involves all relevant actors within the supply chain and users of the SUA/FBS.

23. Conclusions Their potential uses Some notes on FBS interpretation
In this chapter we learned the general concepts of SUA and FBS :
Their potential uses
Some notes on FBS interpretation
The 3 fundamental principles of FBS compilation

24. Reference
Global Strategy to improve agricultural and rural statistics, Handbook of Food Balance Sheet, Rome, Italy, chapter 1

25. Thank You