1. Introduction
Cold Chain System can be defined as a installation which helps continue perishable nutrient points for certain continuance by supplying storage conditions such as lower temperatures and lower humidness from the point of beginning to the point of ingestion therefore forestalling debasement. It therefore helps retain the colour, spirit and gustatory sensation of the nutrient points. Cold storage therefore insulates husbandman from losingss in the event monetary values dramatically falls or in hive awaying seasonal merchandises.
In order to present these spoilables from husbandmans to the consumers requires a supply concatenation system which has to concentrate on cost effectual bringing along with focal point on forestalling spoilage and retain the quality of harvested merchandises. Spoilage is curbed the minute harvest home begins utilizing techniques such as pre-cooling. Cold concatenation signifiers an of import portion of the supply concatenation system.
Cold concatenation market can be divided into two sections:
• Surface Storage: Pertains to utilize of refrigerated warehouses.
• Refrigerated Conveyance: Pertains to utilize of refrigerated conveyance vehicles.
The Cold concatenation logistics infrastructure by and large consists of the followers:
• Pre-cooling installations
• Cold Storages
• Refrigerated Carriers
• Packaging
• Warehouse and Information Management systems
• Tracking systems
• Financial and Insurance Institutions
Benefits of a Cold Chain
O Reduces losingss incurred due to disintegrate of spoilables
O Enables length of service to nutrient points
O Helps continue the quality of nutrient points
O Prevents spoilage of fruits and veggies
O Seasonal fruits and veggies are made available
Cold Storage Technologies
Vapor Absorption System ( Involves higher initial investing, wasteful below 100 C )
Vapor Compression System ( diffusor type, sand trap type and fin spiral type )
2. Global Scenario
The procedure that makes feeding the 1000000s hard is distribution instead than supply and production. The challenge is distribution – ensuring that nutrient is harvested, stored and distributed to retail merchants and consumers in a manner that ensures minimal spoilage—from farm gate to nutrient home base. In the nutrient industry, it ‘s merely called “the cold chain.” World Food Logistics Organization ( WFLO ) has assumed the mission of edifice and keeping the cold concatenation in states around the universe. The cold supply concatenation is a multi-billion dollar concern with more companies now positioning themselves to be portion of the industry. The growing of retail sector throughout the part has driven the demand for cold storage installations, and 3rd Party Logistics ( 3PL ) companies concentrating on cold storage and distribution.
The industry is in its nascent phase in Asia Pacific part, although one can see alterations rapidly being implemented – traditional “wet markets” being replaced by new super- and hyper-markets ; life manners and eating wonts altering ; and as Asiatic economic systems grow more flush, retail disbursement set record highs. However, the cold supply concatenation industry falls behind other industries when it comes to the proviso of modern warehouse systems and logistics.
2.1 Global Pressures that are redefining the cold concatenation
Harmonizing to Professor Davies, is that “we are now sing speed uping rates of multi-dimensional alteration. No 1 factor is altering on its ain [ doing ] for an progressively complex scenario” . Today the market is characterized by aggressive competition and the cold storage system is expected to react to it positively. Otherwise it may take to choice of an altogether different better executing SCM by the client. In order to accommodate harmonizing to alterations, it is imperative to hold knowledge about the drivers that affect the alterations.
1. Technological progresss
2. Consumer consciousness and gustatory sensations
3. Tightening competition
4. Government Regulations
5. Environmental considerations
6. Globalization
· Technology: In informations gaining control and processing, merchandise trailing and tracing, temperature control, freight conveyance theodolite times coupled with communicating, the media and the web have brought us closer to each other, closer to the client and closer to the consumer. It has made supply ironss more crystalline, peculiarly when portion of the concatenation fails.
* Consumer Tastes: The consumer is turning progressively cognizant of his rights and powers. This will unquestionably hold an influence on all activities including nutrient supply concatenation and cold storage.
· Competition: The production efficiency negotiations about the cold concatenation direction and the cargo logistics. It has been recorded in a study of Asiatic Food importers that USA and New Zealand as holding the most capable collect storage systems, followed by Europe and so Australia.
* Govt. Regulations: There are many nutrient safety ordinances. In Australia, Food criterions Australia/New Zealand introduce such ordinances.
* Environmental Considerations: Production methods that are sensitive to the eco system will be promoted.
2.2 Future Scope
Harmonizing to the Global Cold Chain Logistics Report 2008-2009, by Global Cold Chain Alliance and Transport Intelligence, Globalization and lifting frozen-refrigerated nutrient consumerism will be the cardinal drivers of the following decennary ‘s cold concatenation growing.
Sample findings include:
* An estimated $ 80.66 billion market sizing for the entire planetary temperature-controlled logistics market, excepting pharmaceuticals.
* While volume temperature-controlled groceries have increased by more than 50 per centum during the past decennary, the universe ‘s joint fleet could be halved by 2013, proposing a sustained logjam.
* American LTL truck bearers are forcing consolidation by traveling into the retail markets in chase of extra growing.
* As India ‘s retail sector is expected to turn by 40 per centum during the following 3 old ages, more than 340 million square pess will be needed by 2015 to suit growing. Refrigerated repositing is poised to germinate ( and must germinate to run into demand ) from more crude installations to sophisticated cold storage operations and hubs.
* Vietnam today resembles India about five old ages ago, uniting individually-owned cold chain-related retail mercantile establishments with a GDP growing rate of 7.5 per centum.
* A clear tendency among major processed frozen nutrient manufacturers is the betterment of their supply concatenation cost base through consolidation of production installations.
3. Indian Scenario
India is one among the fastest developing economic systems with GDP turning at an norm of 6.5 % per twelvemonth. It is the largest manufacturer of fruits and the 2nd largest manufacturer of veggies in the universe. But due to spreads in the cold concatenation about 30 % of the green goods gets wasted.
3.1 Gaps in the Indian cold concatenation logistics and chances for betterment
The cold concatenation market is largely dominated by private participants and province owned participants are present in the minority. Potato is the most of import trade good which is soon placed in the cold shops accounting for 92 % of the entire capacity in the state. The staying 8 % is being utilized for other perishable merchandises. The addition in agricultural green goods besides led to the growing of nutrient processing sector so as to devour the excesss. Around the same clip retail sector besides got organized with the coming of several major participants both national and international. Retail nutrient market comprising of fast nutrient, ready to eat nutrients and frozen merchandises such as ice-cream are to a great extent dependent on cold concatenation installations with each merchandise necessitating different temperature conditions. This poses as a challenge for logistics operations. Cold storage besides has applications in the pharmaceutical sector for continuing drugs. These factors pose dire need for development of repositing and cold concatenation substructure in India.
3.2 Cold concatenation logistics in India – Scope for betterment
· Lack of incorporate cold concatenation
There is a demand for the development of incorporate cold concatenation systems in the state which would supply a series of storage and distribution activities keeping a certain temperature scope
· Inadequate capital subsidy strategies from the authorities
The capital subsidy strategies in the sector of cold storage are peculiarly unequal and do non promote private investing in the field, therefore amounting to deficient storage infinite available
· Inadequate and fickle power supply
Erratic power supply consequences in turn overing brown-outs or power losingss at cold storage installations thereby ensuing in possible merchandise harm or loss.
· Poor route substructure
Poor route substructure consequences in merchandise harm during theodolite, thereby cut downing outputs and value due to merchandise bruising and devastation
· Lack of knowledge – procedure inefficiencies abound
The deficiency of consciousness sing the use of cold concatenation equipment and installations, perceived complicated behaviours, etc farther addition inefficiencies in the whole procedure
· High capital costs compounded by high case of customs/excise responsibility on equipment
This affects the puting up of cold storage installations in the state every bit good as the import of hi-tech equipment from abroad for cold storage
· Lack of human capital
The deficiency of adequate and relevant human capital to pull off and run cold concatenation systems
3.3 Key statistical facts
* The entire market for cold ironss is valued at Rs 100 billion in 2008 and is estimated to make Rs 400 billion in 2015.
* India presently has around 5000 cold storage installations with a entire capacity of 22 million dozenss.
* Major provinces in cold concatenation installations are UP, Uttaranchal, Maharashtra and West Bengal.
* Requirement of cold storage in the following five old ages may be in surplus of 12 lakh dozenss.
3.4 Other barriers
1. Majority of cold storage installations available are merely for individual trade goods. This leads to inefficient capacity use in footings of storage infinite available. Hence multi-purpose cold storage installations need to be developed.
2. Another issue in puting up cold concatenation installations particularly near sea or ports is acquisition of land, which acts a major hurdle for private participants to set up such installations.
3. Since bulk of cold concatenation suppliers are unorganised private participants, keeping consistent quality of the nutrient points is a affair of concern.
4. Government Roles and Regulations
4.1 Government`s function in hiking cold concatenation installation development
The authorities of India has undertaken several enterprises to undertake substructure related issues and is besides supplying inducements to promote investings in proviso of cold concatenation installations across the state. The following are the enterprises undertaken: –
1. The cold concatenation installations are given substructure position, therefore doing them eligible for revenue enhancement interruptions and cheaper recognition installations.
2. To promote investings in this sector foreign equity engagement of 51 % is permitted.
3. Import of cold storage equipment is facilitated by remotion of import limitations.
4. National Horticulture Board ( NHB ) has launched a capital investing subsidy strategy which provides 25 % ( maximal Rs.50 hundred thousand ) subsidies to the booster.
5. In order to back up the high degrees of production, Inter Ministerial Task force on Agricultural Marketing Reforms constituted by Ministry of Agriculture has recommended the creative activity of extra cold concatenation installations at an investing cost of Rs. 2500 crore of which Rs. 625 crore are to be provided as subsidy and the remainder has to come as private investing.
6. Modernization of bing installations will besides be done with an investing cost of Rs.2100 crore of which Rs. 525 crore are to be subsidy and the balance to come as private investing.
7. Separate enterprises have besides been taken by the province authoritiess. For illustration the Gujarat authorities supports the sector by supplying aid to husbandmans for agricultural inputs, developing systems like drip irrigation and encouraging development of substructure installations like repositing, cold concatenation, etc for better pre-harvest and post-harvest harvest direction.
4.2 Government ordinance for environment control
· “Cold storage order. 1964” Under Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. Applicable to all cold storage with capacity more than 8.4.cu m. Under this order, it is obligatory to obtain a licence from the licencing officer before utilizing the installing for hive awaying any nutrient material.
· Hydro Fluorocarbon ( HFC ) is an Ozone safe replacement to Chloro fluorocarbons ( CFCs ) which was harmful for the protecting bed of Ozone.
* Indian authorities had mandated the twelvemonth 2010 for wholly switching to engineering utilizing HFC.
The authorities of India formed a Central Cold Storage Advisory Committee dwelling of the functionary and non official members for giving advises to the authorities on all affairs refering to the enforcement of cold storage orders and future development of the industry
5. Recent Tendencies
Technological betterments in the field of merchandise trailing and tracing, synchronising transit and faster information processing are being used in cold concatenation logistics supply concatenation to forestall losingss and keep merchandise quality. The followers are some of the techniques being used:
1. Permeant Computer science: It is creative activity of a real-time, sense-respond control web that is able to supervise plus location, temperature, maturing procedures, and other critical factors within the cold concatenation. It is derived from a scope of peripheral devices that leverage wireless, detector, and cyberspace engineerings.
The Solar Chill: A new attack is being developed in the country of solar engineering called the Solar Chill which is supported by the United Nations Environmental Programme, Greenpeace and the UNICEF. The Solar Chill engineering is an alternate to battery-operated solar iceboxs. The Solar Chill aims to assist present infrigidation to parts of the universe without electricity or with unequal electrical supply. Solar Chill is a various infrigidation engineering that is environmentally sound, battery free, technologically dependable, low-cost, and multisource powered. Solar Chill paradigms are presently being used in Senegal, Indonesia, and Cuba.
The recent developments in electronic tagging are utile for supervising the temperatures and besides the shelf life of the merchandise.
