India wastes a staggering INR 92,000 Crore worth of agricultural produce annually with fruits and vegetables wastage contributing INR 40,000 Crore alone [1]. As much as 40% of fresh produce is wasted annually before reaching consumers due to lack of cold chain infrastructure.
The interactive infographic below displays the supply chain of agriculture produce and the amount wasted yearly do to lack of cold chain infrastructure. (hover over the chart for values)
Impact of food wastage:
- As of July 2016, food inflation is at a high of 8.35% affecting the livelihood of the poor[2]
- 35 % of Indian population are below poverty line and barely surviving [3]
- As per 2013 Global Hunger Index (GHI), India ranks 63rd, out of the 78 hungriest countries, significantly worse than neighboring Sri Lanka (43rd), Nepal (49th), Pakistan (57th), and Bangladesh (58th) [4]
- A staggering one-third of the world’s malnourished children live in India- 47% of Indian children are underweight [5]
Cold Chain is the solution
Cold chain infrastructure forms the back bone of the perishable produce’s supply chain. Lack of Cold Chain facilities currently in India is the major reason behind agriculture produce’s wastage. These losses can be avoided by building new cold chain infrastructure, such as cold storage, processing facilities and refrigerated transportation system.
