Mumbai: Lack of cold and frozen supply chains leads to loss of fruits and vegetables worth over Rs 13,600 crore annually in the country, according to a report.
The report `A Tank of Cold: Cleantech Leapfrog to a more food secure world' by UK-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers calls for urgent action to encourage roll-out of sustainable cold chains in India to prevent unnecessary food loss, help alleviate hunger and improve global food security.
As much as 50 percent of perishable foot items are lost every year in India due to lack of cold storages, it said.
India is the world's largest producer of milk, and second only to China in fruit and vegetables. Yet agriculture, which makes up 53 percent of the workforce, generates just 15 percent of GDP.
As of 2012, India had about 6,300 cold storages with a capacity of 30.11 million metric tonnes. But about 60 percent of them are located in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal and Punjab.
The Indian government as well as NGOs involved in development initiatives and retailers need to prioritise investment into affordable, reliable and sustainable cold chain, said the report.
"Using the cryogenic engine technology to provide cooling of large refrigerated lorry or rail containers will cost between a fifth and a third of using diesel for the same job. It has the added benefit of zero-emission of pollutants...
"When combined with the increased income to farmers from getting more produce to market, this makes economic as well as environmental sense," it said, adding that India is well placed to use the technology as it has both the LNG infrastructure and the engineering talent.
Domestic investment in cold chain is forecast to be USD 15 billion over the next five years, but to ensure this investment is sustainable and cost effective it must focus on powering these cold chains using renewable energy sources, the report said.
