Left Out in the Cold: The Case of Potato Cold Stores in West Bengal

The need to make food production, distribution and consumption sustainable is a critical concern worldwide. Even though India contributes significantly to the world’s fruit and vegetable production, per capita domestic availability and export of fruits and vegetables in this country is low because of the enormous post-harvest losses. Primitive and inadequate cold chain infrastructure has been perceived to be the weakest link in the Indian food supply chain, as this directly affects the quality, safety and shelf life of perishable products. The paper empirically investigates the current state of cold storage facilities in West Bengal, the second highest potato producing state in India. It highlights specific cold chain wastes and elimination opportunities at strategic and operational levels. The study also identifies a need to establish and implement performance evaluation measures for monitoring the integrity of the cold chain. The study represents one of the first and objective studies of its type within the Indian agri-food supply chain and adds to the limited body of knowledge on this sector. At process level, this study provides recommendations for observance of proper conditions in the cold stores. It also provides viable and achievable initiatives to encourage private entrepreneurship and investment and to improve growth and profitability in this sector. This study is also timely and relevant as parallel development of cold chain infrastructure is essential to coincide with the emergence of organized retail in India.