United Nations Agricultural Sectors
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Food and Farming

In 2017, the United Nations spent more than $2 billion in the food and farming sector. Like the health sector, the food and farming sector has a strong connection to several UN organizations’ core mandates. For example, the World Food Programme (WFP), provides food assistance to meet emergency needs and to support economic and social development. WFP is the primary buyer in this category. In 2017, WFP spent

$1.4 billion or 69% of the total spent in this category. Their key food and farming subcategories include wheat, rice, maize, and dry pulses, among others. If you are a supplier in these subcategories, we recommend visiting WFP’s website at http://www1.wfp.org/for additional information about opportunities and vendor registration procedures at WFP. The United States however, is not in the top five supplier countries. The top five vendor countries include Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Panama, Singapore, and Nigeria.

The table below outlines the top 10 subcategories for 95% of the total spent in this category. As you will see, spending in each subcategory tends to be dominated by a single UN organization procuring between 90 and 100 percent of that category. For example, the UNPD procured about 97 percent of all prepared and preserved foods, while the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) procures most of the Seeds and Bulbs and Seedlings and Cuttings products.

2017 United Nations Procurement – Food and Farming – Top 10 Subcategories (Excluding

World Food Programme)

Categories

Total 2017 Procurement

(in $ millions)

Largest procuring organization

Largest organization 2017 procurement

(in $ millions)

Largest organization’ % share of total 2017 procurement

Cereal and Pulse Products

640.3

WFP

603.1

94.2%

Prepared and Preserved Foods

410.8

UNPD

399.7

97.3%

Nutritional Supplements

307.7

WFP

307.5

99.9%

Fresh Vegetables

242.1

WFP

241.9

99.9%

Edible Oils and Fats

178.9

WFP

169.1

94.5%

Chocolate and Sugars and Sweeteners and Confectionary Products

38.6

WFP

34.6

89.7%

Dairy Products and Eggs

36.4

WFP

23.2

63.9%

Seeds and Bulbs and Seedlings and Cuttings

34.9

FAO

33.5

96.1%

Agricultural and Forestry and Landscape Machinery and Equipment

32.5

UNDP

16.9

51.8%

Water Resources Development and Oversight

17.6

FAO

9.0

51.0%

Top 10 Total

1,939.8

 

1,838.5

 

Grand Total

2,050.5

 

 

 

Source: 2017 Annual Statistical Report on United Nations

https://content.unops.org/publications/ASR/ASR-2017_EN.pdf?mtime=20180619124706