ABSTRACT
India is a developing country with the second largest arable land area in the world and is also the second largest producer of perishable produce. For decades, it actively encouraged the creation of cold stores almost exclusively through its private sector, including cooperatives and companies. Today, it is estimated to have more than 150 million cubic metres in refrigerated warehousing space, by far the largest installed capacity worldwide. Yet, this has not resulted in the deployment of cold chains at a sufficient scale to suit the volume of fresh produce. The country’s approach towards the cold chain and the associated strategy for its development has seen some changes over time. Inadvertent errors and omissions have resulted in a shortfall of some critical pieces in the cold chain for fresh produce. This chapter provides a historical perspective of the trajectory adopted by India in its cold chain development.
