Heavy investments needed for cold storage chain to cut food waste

At present, there are 405 cold storages across the country. 

More than 95% of these are used to store potatoes. The remaining is used for small amounts of dry chillies, turmeric, cumin seeds, fish, garlic and fruits. 

Surprisingly though, the most perishable food items – onions and vegetables – find no room in the cold storages. The post-harvest loss of these produce is close to 40%. If there was an opportunity for proper storage, this loss could have been avoided and an additional role could have been played in food security.

Those who have created cold storages specifically for such produce have also incurred losses. The cost of the technology needed to preserve these commodities does not match the product price. Hence, it is not feasible. This is a reason why many who took up the initiative, later backtracked.

To preserve perishable products, especially in the case of vegetables, the temperature must be maintained at a minus, whereas normal cold storages have temperatures of around 15 degree fahrenheit. 

Electricity consumption for maintaining a minus temperature will be much higher. The higher cost incurred, means the product cannot be kept and then sold at the regular market price. The investment for such a cold storage, too, is very high.

Then there are a myriad of other problems to deal with as well. Consumers do not want to eat the winter vegetables after a certain point. Different vegetables are available in the market during the monsoon and the summer. As seasons change, so does people's taste. 

There is also a perception among consumers that winter cauliflowers and cabbages do not taste good when eaten in hot weather. Because of this, if those are stored and marketed in the summer, not many consumers would be found.

Last winter, we saw many vegetables being discarded or used as animal feed.

Now, gourds can be produced throughout the year. People are buying and eating fresh produce from the market. They don't want items stored in the freezer. They want to taste different vegetables during different seasons. This is another big reason.

Many attempts have also been made to keep onions. But those cannot be stored for more than one or two months. India does not do so either. Onions are produced at different times in different states, so a shortage is hardly ever seen.

In abroad, we also see transporters carrying perishable goods maintaining a cold chain. We, on the other hand, use trucks. This necessitates an infrastructural change on the back of large investments to develop cold storage chains.

Many are still trying to do this. If we get used to this, post harvest can be reduced drastically. 

According to the analysis of food waste by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and the United Nations Environment Programme, more than 37 lakh tonnes of food is wasted in the country every year from the harvest field to the kitchen. If a permanent cold chain is maintained, most of it will be ready for consumption. For this, however, the entire supply chain needs to be overhauled.

At present, everyone understands cold storage as potato storage. However, farmers, traders and cold storage owners all collectively incurred losses in 2022 due to increased production of potatoes. Farmers did not get the price in the market while they had to pay the cost of storage. Traders also could not sell at a good price. Due to these reasons, the cold storage owners have to waive the interest on the loans they give to the farmers.

The author is the president of the Bangladesh Cold Storage Association