Study and analysis of cold chain practices across four sectors and recommendations towards improving them

Abstract

With a total installed capacity of 34.9 Mn MT of cold storage, India is one of the countries which is largely dependent on cold chain for supplying perishable goods, in the world. India is the largest producer of Milk, with 165.4 Mn MT of milk being produced annually. With an annual production of 277 Mn MT, it ranks second in the production of Fruits and Vegetables (F&V). It also ranks second in the production of Fish, with a total of 11.4 Mn MT being produced every year. As far as meat production is concerned, with a total annual production of 7.4 Mn MT, it is the largest Buffalo meat producer and the second largest Goat Meat producer. With all this said, India has the capacity to store only 11% of its total production of all perishable goods. This results in faster expiration of a large variety of goods that are perishable in nature, including absolute essentials such as milk, fruits, vegetables and vaccines. It is estimated that only 4% of all fruits and vegetables produced in India move through cold storage, while the same for developed countries like the U.K., it is around 70% (Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, 2019). The entire business of Cold Chain could be classified into three verticals, which are - Cold Storage, Cold Transport, and Other value added services. With a total market size of about INR 1,121 Bn, the market for Cold Storage and Cold Transport constitutes roughly about 40% and 30%, respectively. The remainder of the market is contributed by other value-added services such as, sorting, labelling, packing, etc., which are performed during the intermediate stages in the value chain. The overall market size for Cold Chain is projected to grow at a CAGR of 14.8% by the year 2025. The market in India is highly fragmented in nature, with the top ten players capturing only 10% of the market share (Yes Bank, 2018).