News Content

China's cold chain needs strengthening to meet demands of perishables trade

THE food industry in China aims to increase the volume of fresh food it exports and distributes in line with efforts to modernise and improve safety procedures and growing methods.

To meet the needs of its growing population and expanding middle class, China will source more and more of its fresh food globally in the years ahead, which presents commercial opportunities for producers worldwide, as well as for importers and distributors.

However, there's one major element that holds back perishable food-related commerce: China's cold chain needs serious strengthening, reported American Journal of Transportation.

"The growth in consumption of perishable food in China will only continue if supply chains deliver on quality and safety," wrote food and agribusiness research analyst Paul Bosch at Rabobank, in a recent report.

"To a large extent this depends on the proper cooling of products during storage handling and transport."

This doesn't just mean building new cold storage facilities and adding fleets of refrigerated trucks, although both are desperately needed. Cold storage operations are highly fragmented. Many existing cold storage facilities are substandard and improperly run.

Some cold storage facilities deceive customers as to capabilities, including discreet temperature capabilities. Drivers often lack training in how to properly transport refrigerated goods and many times carry them in vehicles that have seen better days.

"There's a lack of understanding how to operate what they do have," said Mr Bosch in an interview. "They don't use assets the rightway."