Cold Storage Industry Overview

By Author: Alick William
Total Articles: 5
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The major loss that occurs in perishable commodities is caused due to bacteria or fungi. These micro-organisms usually consume small amount of food but damage the commodity to the point that it becomes unacceptable because of rotting or other defects. The loss also occurs during ripening, senescence, including wilting & termination of dormancy (e.g., sprouting) that increases the susceptibility of the commodity to mechanical damage or infection by pathogens.

Another reason for loss in the commodity is consumption of food by rodents, birds, monkeys, etc. which contaminates or causes direct disappearance of the commodity. Sometimes, the level of contamination of commodity by the excreta, hair and feathers of animals and birds is so high that the food is condemned for human consumption.
If the temperature is not maintained during the storage or excessive or insufficient heat or cold is exposed to the commodity, it can also spoil the commodity. It is integral to create conducive atmosphere during the storage time to prevent losses in perishables.

All the above reasons need to be controlled specifically ...
... by keeping a minute-to-minute check on the commodity kept at the cold storage, Delhi. Regular audits & inspections need to be conducted regularly to keep a constant watch on the health of the commodity. There are several companies that have forayed into the market but none of them have been able to cut down the post harvest losses. But, there is one company which recently entered cold chain sector & has proven efficiencies to cut these losses through scientific warehousing.

Till today, SLCM has managed 15 Cold Storages with a capacity of 151850 MT at diversified locations. There are no potato cold storages in Delhi, NCR but the density is more spread in the Agra region. SLCM cold storages are spread across Agra, Aligarh, Firozabad, Deesa, Mathutra & Bodinayakpur for horticulture produce like potato & cardamom. It has been noted that the losses in this sector are about 30%-40% & SLCM has proven its expertise to reduce these post harvest losses to 0.4% in this segment.

The writer has been working with some top Ministry of Agriculture and he has the perfect knowledge and experience to write something about potato storage in Delhi NCR being an Indian.