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Ingersoll Rand has entered the cold chain consultancy business, offering technical competency, system design and application processes for different types of perishables.
Mr Venkatesh Valluri, Chairman and President, Ingersoll Rand India, said the company would design both static and mobile infrastructure to enable delivery of ‘fresh food from farm to fork.'
The cold chain market size in India is estimated at Rs 800 crore, and is growing at 20-22 per cent.
He said FMCG companies, retail chains, farmers, distribution centres and the Government were among the target clientele.
On the potential for the cold chain consultancy business, he said that India wastes about 35 per cent of its perishable produce, resulting in an estimated loss of $11 billion. The current level of food wasted was due to non-availability of infrastructure, both static and mobile.
India is the largest producer of milk (115 mt/year), the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables (200 mt/year), the third largest producer of food grains (218 mt/year) and fish (6.4 mt/year).
Changing food habits will also drive a huge demand for processed foods, which is a nascent industry now in India. Only about 10 per cent of the produce is processed. “There is a large opportunity for food storage in this industry,” Mr Valluri added.
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