NEW DELHI, 27 September 2020: As per available information, there are 8186 numbers of cold storages with capacity of 374.25 Lakh MT is available in the country for storing perishable horticulture produce like fruits and vegetables.

The information regarding capacity utilization, real time data regarding availability, cost etc on cold storage facilities for farmers and traders etc. is not centrally maintained by the Ministry. There is no real-time monitoring System, Indian agriculture & farmers welfare minister said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha recently.

A study on All India Cold-chain Infrastructure Capacity (AICIC-2015) carried out by NABARD Consultancy Service (NABCONS) assessed requirement of 350 lakh MT capacity of cold storage for perishable fruits and vegetables. Currently, there is 374.25 Lakh MT capacity of cold storage is available in the country. 

Government is implementing following schemes under which financial assistance is provided for setting up of cold storages throughout the country to bridge the gap between availability and required cold storage capacity: 

Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) 

Department of Agriculture Cooperation & Farmers Welfare is implementing Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) under which financial assistance is provided for various horticulture activities including setting up of cold storages. The component is demand/entrepreneur-driven for which Government assistance in the form of credit linked back ended subsidy is available at the rate of 35% (for general areas) and 50% (for hilly and scheduled areas) of eligible capital cost of the project for both public and private sector enterprises.

 Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY)

Ministry of Food Processing Industries is implementing the Scheme for Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure as one of the component of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) with the objective of reducing post-harvest losses of horticulture & non-horticulture produce and providing remunerative price to farmers for their produce.

Under the scheme, Ministry provides financial assistance in the form of grant-in-aid at the rate 35 percent for general areas and 50 percent for North East States, Himalayan States, ITDP areas and Islands for storage and transport infrastructure and at the rate of 50 percent and 75 percent respectively for value addition and processing infrastructure subject to a maximum of Rs.10 crore per project for setting up Integrated Cold Chain projects including Irradiation facility. Standalone cold storages are not covered under the Scheme.

State wise distribution of Cold Storages as on 31.08.2020

(Source: Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI) upto 2009, National Horticulture Board (NHB), National Horticulture Mission (NHM), Horticulture Mission for North East & Himalayan (HMNEH) & Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI))

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