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1. Cold Storage India Poised to Grow Significantly India is the world’s largest producer of fruits. The world’s largest democracy is also world’s second largest vegetable producer. However, more than 450MMT is wasted annually largely due to post harvest losses thus lowering the per capita availability of fruits and vegetables. Whereas about 30% of production is attributed to post harvest losses, another reason causing wastage is lack of quality inventory storage. With enhanced utilization of cold chain logistics the shelf life and quality of the produce can be significantly increased. The cold storage growth rate story   Currently, India has over 6100 cold storage services spread across various states. India’s cold storage market is estimated to be worth $8.57 billion by 2020, with a growth rate at a CAGR of 16.09%. In the coming 5 years, the refrigerated storage market is expected to grow at a CAGR rate of 15% whilst the refrigerated transportation market, cold storage market’s largest contributor, is estimated to grow at 17% CAGR rate. Cold storage market’s largest revenue share comes from the meat and fish market which shows growth at CAGR rate of 9% spanning the next 5 years whereas the second largest market share is held by the dairy market which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18.16% in the same duration.   This remarkable growth rate is complemented by a parallel growth in the e-commerce sectors, food processing industry, fast food segment and retail industry. Yet, the total capacity is inadequate at about 28 MMT. Government’s Optimistic Measures Union Food Processing Industries Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal ushered buoyancy in the market with the sanction of 17 new mega food parks and 30 cold chain projects in the ambit of modern infrastructure for food processing. The current figures show that out of 138 government approved integrated cold chain projects, 108 are under the implementation by the ministry and 52 have been completed. These 52 projects create a capacity of 2.16 lakh MT of cold storage/CA (controlled atmosphere)/deep freezer, 80.3 lakh litres per day of milk processing, 38.5 MT/Hour of individual quick freeze (IQF) and 271 of reefer transport. Signaling more positive development in the arena, loans to food and agro-based processing units and cold chains have been classified under agriculture activities for priority sector lending.

2. In a nutshell Cold chain sector in India stands to gain significantly in the coming years, be it from the government’s side or private participation. For instance, Gati Kausar Cold Chain Solutions has been providing advanced, world-class logistical support solutions since 30 years. The clients get options of customized solutions for temperature sensitive shipments and advanced climate control systems for even perishable products like foods, pharmaceuticals, retail and agriculture sector thus ensuring fresh and healthy delivery to the end consumer or retailer. For consumers, cutting edge technology and government’s support translates to healthy, fresh and high-quality products at reasonable price instead of paying more for low quality. The farmers too stand to gain if significant part of perishable produce is not wasted or suffers quality deterioration as this would mean more revenue in their hands and wider market. However, we still have a long way to go. A recently-released report by NABARD Consultancy Services Private Ltd (NABCONS) reveals that the cold chain infrastructure gap will be less in cols store capacities (about 3.28 mt) as compared to other facilities like modern pack-houses (249 against the requisite 70,000 plus), reefer vehicles (9,000 as against 62,000) and ripening chambers (812 as opposed to 9,131). Whatever be the case, cold chain industry in India is poised to take off in a major way. Keyowords : Cold Chain Logistics,Cold Chain Logistics Services,Cold Chain Services