Supermarket promotions are meant to help you save money. But according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), buying more than you need during those promotions is one of the reasons Malaysian households throw away between 31.9kg and 97.3kg of food per person every year.
The findings come from DOSM’s Special Release: Household Food Waste in Malaysia 2025, based on the National Household Indicators Survey (NHIS) 2025. Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said households with higher incomes tend to waste more food because greater purchasing power often leads to buying beyond immediate needs.
When Saving Money Ends Up Costing More
He said promotions can encourage you to buy more than you need and pointed to households where different family members buy the same groceries without realising someone else has already stocked the fridge, leaving some food to expire before it’s used.
When food is easily available and affordable, he added, it can become easier to overlook, making leftovers or unused groceries more likely to end up being thrown away.
The survey found that expired food was the biggest cause of household food waste at 19.3%, followed by leftovers kept in the fridge or freezer for too long (18.1%), overbuying (15.2%) and cooking more food than needed (15.1%).
Food waste was generally higher in urban areas and in higher-income states such as Selangor. He also cited kenduri, family gatherings and catered events as another reason food goes to waste. In urban areas, it’s not unusual to attend several functions over a weekend, often with more food than anyone can realistically finish.
It’s The Food You Buy Every Week
The survey found that 94.1% of households threw away processed or cooked food, compared with 88.7% that disposed of raw food.
Rice recorded the highest wastage among cooked food at 16.7%, followed by vegetables (15.8%) and takeaway food (13.8%). Among raw food, vegetables topped the list (29.1%), followed by fruits (22.4%) and fish or seafood (15.0%).
Rice, vegetables, fruit and takeaway food are foods many Malaysians buy every week. They’re also the ones most commonly thrown away.
To help reduce household food waste, Mohd Uzir said meal planning and checking what’s already in the fridge before buying more groceries can make a difference. That is especially important in households where different family members may unknowingly buy the same items twice.
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