India is bestowed with a varied agro climatic conditions which are highly favourable for
growing a large number of horticulture crops such as vegetables, fruits, aromatic plants, herbs
and spices, etc. India is among the foremost countries in horticulture production, just
behind China. However, despite the rise, India is way behind its nearest rival in per-hectare
yield and processing of horticulture products. India stores only two percent of its horticulture
products in temperature-controlled conditions, while China stores 15 percent and Europe and
North America stores 85 percent of their products in such conditions. Adequate cold storage
facilities are available for just about 10 percent of India’s horticulture production. Of the total
annual production, 30-40 percent is wasted before consumption. During the peak production
period, the gap between the demand and supply of cold storage capacity is approx. 25