Planning Commission member Saumitra Chaudhuri today urged for greater private investment to improve the cold chain infrastructure in the country. Referring to the huge amount of wastage of perishable food items, including fruits, vegetables, milk, meat and fish, he said that there is a need to adopt scientific methods to increase the shelf life of perishables and pharmaceuticals. He was speaking at a national conference on cold chain management in New Delhi today.
Our Correspondent reports, the Indian cold chain market is currently worth three billion Dollars and is expected to grow to 12.4 billion Dollars by 2015. Despite the projected growth, nearly 25-40 per cent annual wastage in fruits and vegetables has been recorded causing a huge loss to the economy.