Cold Chain - A Critical Link in the New Normal Times

India is amongst the top 3 countries in the production of commodities like spices, fisheries, poultry, milk, fruits, and vegetables. Even with such large volumes, our present share in global farm trade is very small. A key deterrent to this is the high level of wastage across the value chain of key perishables. India witnesses nearly 4.6-15.9% wastage in fruits and vegetables, 5.2% in inland fish, 10.5% in marine fish, 2.7% in meat, and 6.7% in poultry meat. Maximum losses take place during farm operations and transportation.

Such high wastage levels across categories provide a huge opportunity for wastage reduction through food processing and development of post-harvest logistics, storage, and marketing infrastructure. The National Center for Cold Chain Development (NCCD) has identified a gap of 3.2 Mn MT in cold storage capacity, more than 69,000 packhouses, more than 50,000 reefer vehicles, and a gap of around 8,000 ripening chambers in India.

In this hour of a global outbreak, the wastage of food is definitely something we can't afford. The COVID-19 outbreak has spread in India at a time when the crops are ready to be harvested. Due to restrictions on non-essential travel/movement, a shortage of farm workers has led to delay in the harvesting of crops which will hamper our food production. On the other hand, processed and frozen food industry has seen a sharp growth due to the increasing health-conscious behaviour of consumers trying to battle Coronavirus. The pandemic has changed the way we live and operate. There is a great shift in consumption patterns and more importantly a big shift in the way we are looking at the future.

 While India is trying to become atmanirbhar, it is also preparing itself as the global supplier of food and vaccines. India's ambition to become a global supplier and restriction on imports can have multiple benefits including growing export market, increased domestic consumption, direct benefit to farmers, optimized supply chain, reduced wastage & loss of food and medicine, reduced greenhouse gas emissions from the food waste, and food security for all in the country.

The existing level of food wastage, COVID-19 crisis as well as changing consumer preferences in new normal times, act as a catalyst to the growing cold chain sector in India. Innovation will drive the food, pharma and marine sectors where cold storage and transportation are becoming increasingly critical.

Our current cold storage facility in Kolkata is one of the largest warehouses in Eastern India. We expansion plans will give rise to a coastal belt connectivity with new warehouses in Bhubneshwar this September and Vizag by April 2021. Our portable storage containers and reefer trucks across 27 cities in India ensure connectivity and last-mile delivery.

At Crystal, we turn to technology to find solutions and bridge these gaps. We continue to come up with innovative products and solutions which address the challenges being faced by the Food, Marine, and Pharma industry in India and keeps pace with the ever-evolving state of the food chain in the country.