India is among the world’s largest producers of fruits, vegetables, meat and seafood, but the nation has access to only 60 percent of this produce. The nation been primarily an agrarian economy and is one of the world’s largest producers of fruits, vegetables, meat and seafood, but a sizeable portion of the population sleeps hungry every night. And moreover: the wealth and economic status of farmers, fishermen and those in allied professions doesn’t improve.
Limited cold chain infrastructure is a major culprit of this, leading to loss of produce. The gap between national perishable produce and cold storage infrastructure is leading to approximately 40 percent wastage.
Developing the right ecosystem
This means the real question to ask is: How well are we building an ecosystem for the farmers/ fishermen/ producers, the traders and the supply-chain professionals? Given the sensitive nature and limited shelf-life, a seamless flow of cargo in the desired controlled settings must be made possible. Today, we are facing an acute shortage of multi-commodity cold storage with modern equipment, pack houses, customs clearance facilities closer to the port or source, in addition to inadequate expertise in managing the cold chain. For export-import consignments, it's important to know about the right stuffing, global quality standards and shipping days--this can make or break a global transaction.
The Indian Government and National Centre for Cold Chain Development (NCCD) have put tremendous efforts through ongoing infrastructure development (135 cold chain projects, 40 mega food parks, grants above Rs 70 billion), setting up policies (subsidies, taxes) and technical training. But, the onus is equally on the private sector to make a difference, with a long-term vision and focused approach. We need players who can think, invest and bring new solutions to market, enabling the right quality and costs.
Safety, global standards of quality, enhanced efficiency and investments need to be the foundations on which our cold chains need to be built. Being energy intensive (due to refrigeration), these supply chains need to be carefully monitored for their impact on the environment. There is a pressing need to create a reformed workforce to elevate India’s standing in the cold chain market globally.
India needs to realise its true potential. It is time to transform the traditional perishables business through integrated cold-chain solutions, modernisation and the use of technology such as the Internet of Things. Not an easy task but that’s our real ticket to transforming the nation, and the over-60 percent population currently employed in agriculture.
