Why India needs a decentralised cold chain

India’s cold-chain debate has focused on building cold storages and adding refrigerated vehicles. Both are necessary, but produce often begins losing value earlier, at the farm gate, fishing harbour, collection centre or during its first journey to market.

A 2022 study commissioned by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries and conducted by NABCONS estimated post-harvest losses of 6.02 to 15.05 per cent for fruits, 4.87 to 11.61 per cent for vegetables, 4.86 per cent for inland fisheries and 8.76 per cent for marine fisheries. These losses reduce incomes and raise supply-chain costs.

The challenge is structural. About 86 per cent of India’s operational agricultural holdings are small or marginal, according to the Agriculture Census 2015-16. Their volumes rarely justify individual cold rooms, packhouses or refrigerated vehicles. Large-load infrastructure cannot efficiently serve dispersed farmers harvesting only a few crates.

Cold-storage capacity alone cannot represent an effective cold chain. Produce must be sorted, pre-cooled, stored and transported without prolonged heat exposure. The National Centre for Cold Chain Development has found that gaps in modern packhouses and refrigerated transport are more severe than the shortage of bulk storage. Links between farms, facilities and markets remain uneven.

Farmers cannot wait for refrigerated trucks to fill, while fishers cannot postpone cooling their catch. Crushed ice remains common in fisheries, but it adds weight, melts, provides inconsistent temperatures and can pose hygiene risks when made from poor-quality water. Conventional refrigeration is rarely economical for small landing centres.

Grocery and quick-commerce companies move small consignments from warehouses to multiple dark stores. Refrigerated trucks become expensive on short routes or with partial loads, while their cooling systems add fuel consumption, maintenance costs and emissions.

India therefore needs cooling that can be accessed when required and paid for according to use. Cooling-as-a-Service allows farmers, fishers, food companies and logistics operators to use temperature-controlled storage or transport without owning the equipment.

Phase Change Materials, or PCMs, can support this model. Charged centrally and placed inside insulated boxes, containers or cold rooms, they absorb and release thermal energy at a defined temperature without continuously running a compressor. Electricity is still needed for charging, but cooling can be generated centrally and used elsewhere. NCCD’s 2025 energy-transition report identifies PCM packaging as an emerging option for temperature-controlled transportation.

This enables hub-and-spoke networks in which local centres charge, distribute and collect reusable panels. In fisheries, PCM-fitted boxes can reduce dependence on crushed ice on suitable routes. The catch remains dry, temperatures are steadier and ordinary vehicles can carry the boxes. Charging hubs can also support local entrepreneurs.

In a farm-gate programme across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, small evaporative cold rooms were combined with insulated boxes and rechargeable panels in a network reaching 5,000 farmers. Such systems can reduce distress sales. Impact should be measured through spoilage reduction, price realisation and income changes.

Thermal storage can also strengthen existing cold rooms. In field trials, PCM retrofits reduced compressor run-time by about 44 to 45 per cent, lowered mechanical stress and maintained temperatures during power interruptions. Performance must be assessed through electricity consumption and temperature compliance, not compressor run-time alone.

Modular cooling cannot replace active refrigeration for long-distance transport, bulk cargo or highly sensitive products. Its role is to fill gaps where conventional infrastructure is too expensive, distant or poorly matched to the load. Shared charging hubs, pay-per-use cooling, crop-specific cold rooms, reusable thermal packaging and temperature monitoring can connect farms and landing centres to existing infrastructure. India needs a cold chain that is not merely bigger, but more distributed and accessible.