India's cold storage leap: Driving food security

INDIA'S agriculture sector, with a GDP of $262 billion, showcases remarkable resilience, being minimally dependent on imports.

- SAKSHI JAIN

This achievement is largely credited to agribusiness companies, which have outpaced many other sectors in growth over recent decades. Notably, the agriculture industry has seen a 28 percent increase in total shareholder returns over the past 10 years, a remarkable 17 percent higher than the broader Indian market.

And to maintain this growth, India's cold chain market plays an important role serving the diverse and constantly growing market, while ensuring perishable goods reach their destinations in the ideal conditions.

India’s Cold Chain Market

Over the past years, the cold storage market has grown to $12Bn with a low market concentration. Playing on all the drivers of its growth this market is expected to reach $20bn by 2029 at an increasing rate of 10%.

At this critical stage of development, where the agriculture industry is substantial, India needs a robust supply chain infrastructure for its cold chains, but there are shifts in trends and other challenges to address.

Shifting Consumption Trends in F&V

Bridging India's Yield Gap: The Indian crop yield is lower than the Asian averages. The average yield of fruits and vegetables in India is at 11.3T per hectare as of 2024 compared to 16.2T per hectare in China. This indicates the potential improvement of almost 40-75% with the right interventions. But without major productivity gains, India has a potential risk of falling short of the projected food demand for the year 2025.

India also falls short on the average rice yield, currently 4T per hectare which is 3T lower when compared to China. So, to meet the demand for pulses alone, India needs to import around 15MMT by 2025, positioning the country as a major player in the global pulse trade volumes.