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1 Background

India ranks first in the world in production of fruits and second in vegetables, accounting
roughly 10 and 15 per cent, respectively, of total global production. However, one third of
our horticultural produce are wasted, mainly on account of poor cold storage and other
storage facilities. Wastage of fruits and vegetables due to poor post-harvest management and
lack of cold chain facilities have been estimated to cost up to Rs 500 billion annually.
Besides, quality of a sizable quantity of produce also deteriorates by the time it reaches the
consumer. This is mainly because of perishable nature of the produce which requires a cold
chain arrangement to maintain the quality and extend the shelf-life if consumption is not
meant immediately after harvest. In the absence of a cold storage and related cold chain
facilities, the farmers are being forced to sell their produce immediately after harvest which
results in glut situations and low price realization. The country also experiences wide
fluctuations in prices of horticultural produce, particularly potatoes and onions. This makes
cold storage industry a very important and essential industry.

Cold storage is used to preserve fruits and vegetables. Once they are kept in the cold storage,
they do not get spoiled even after many months. This item, when needed, can be taken from
the cold storage and can be made available to consumers very easily. Cold storage is a vital
link between the production and consumption of perishable products. Apart from the
conservation of perishables, the cold storages also help in increasing the marketing period of
these commodities and ensure availability to the consumer over a long period.

Most of the cold storage capacity in India is meant to store only potato. 90% of the potato
crop in the country is harvested between January-February. Recurring gluts are common due
to inadequate refrigerated storage and transport infrastructure, lack of modern marketing
avenues, low domestic utilization and insignificant processing and export. Further, potato
price crash drastically at harvest, increase rapidly in April-May and are almost double in
July-August. Potato prices can thus be stabilized by regulating the supplies to the market
through short-term storage.

Since fresh potatoes are available only for three months, hence there is a need to store seed
potatoes for 6-8 months and potatoes for table and processing purposes up to 9 months to
maintain the potato supply through-out the year. The quality of stored produce need to be
ensured by eliminating sprouting, rottage and tuber moth damage and reducing weight loss.

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Depending on the quality requirements for specific end use, potatoes can be stored under
different conditions.

Cold storage units can be used to store either a single commodity or multiple commodities.
The cold storage facilities now available are mostly for a single commodity like potato,
orange, apple, grapes, pomegranates, flowers, etc. which results in poor capacity utilization.
Multi commodity cold storages ensure better capacity utilization and round the year
occupancy of cold storage. Other facilities like grading, packing, drying, ripening etc can also
be availed in the cold storage to improve its functionality and ensure efficiency in operation.

1.2 Background of Area under study

The state of Gujarat has a unique agro climatic condition. The progressive and hard working
farmers produce wide variety of agricultural produces. The major crops of horticulture in
Gujarat are Banana, Mango, Chikoo and Papaya. The major vegetable crops grown in Gujarat
are Onion, Potato, Brinjal and Tomato. In addition to this, Gujarat also produces Chillies,
Cumin, Fennel and Garlic.

Gujarat is one of the most industrialised states in India. In agricultural production too, the
state is equally advanced and now accelerating its pace into high tech agriculture. The
government has decided to accord priority to agro processing and horticulture, in view of
high export potential for fruits like mango, banana and chikoo. The government would
support the sector by providing assistance to farmers for agricultural inputs and systems like
drip irrigation and encourage development of infrastructure facilities like warehousing, cold
chain, pack houses, interventions like banana ripening etc. for better pre harvest and post
harvest crop management. 

The State of Gujarat has strength in Agro Based Industry in terms of natural resources
established industrial base, skilled labour force, enterprising farmers, network of market
yards and other requisite infrastructure.

Added to this is the state's well-developed infrastructure. It has excellent road network,
railway connectivity, air linkages with an international airport at Ahmedabad, ports and
telecommunication facilities.

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In addition Gujarat has been identified only place in the country agronomical suited for
cultivation of potatoes with high TSS and low reducing sugar which are required by the
potato processing industry.

Physical provisions to be considered for cold storage:

1. Land
To set up a 5000 MT capacity cold storage unit although one acre of land may be
adequate, it is always better to have two acres of land to take care of future expansions
and waste management. While selecting the site care should be taken to select a site at
an elevation free from inundation and well connected by road and other
communication facilities to both production and consumption centres. The land
should be of non agricultural type and the soil at the site should be firm enough to
carry the weight of the building and storage racks.

2. Site development including leveling, fencing, road, drainage, etc.

3. Civil structures including main cold storage building, rack provisions, drying shed,
machinery room, store for consumables, generator room, office, security cabin, etc.
4. Insulation of main cold store building
All the sides of the cold storage room need to be insulated in order to maintain the
required temperature inside. Thermocoal or Poly Urethane Fibre (PUF) panels are
used for insulation depending upon the economics of the project.

5. Machinery for cooling, air movement, loading, grading and weighing

While selecting size of the equipment, care should be taken to assess all loads and
proper provision should be made to take care of the peak demand during summer
loading and aging of the equipment. Ammonia is a preferred refrigerant used for
horticultural and plantation produce cold storage units. Medium speed reciprocating
compressors and atmospheric condensers are preferred because of the relatively lower
cost, energy efficiency and ease in maintenance.

6. Electric supply arrangement including installation of transformer and deposits for

requisite connection
7. Standby electric supply arrangement/ DG set

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 In case the power available is not dependable, provision of a Diesel Generator set
should be incorporated in the project.

8. Water supply arrangement and treatment plant, if required

If water at site is not soft and its hardness is within the limit for treatment, a softening
plant has to be incorporated to match the capacity.

9. Pollution control and waste disposal equipment

10. Miscellaneous fixed assets including office equipment and furniture
11. Preliminary and preoperative expenses
12. Contingency
13. Margin money for working capital

CIPC technology in cold storage of potato

In India, potatoes are mostly stored in refrigerated cold stores maintained at 2-4 0C and 90-
95% RH. It causes cold-induces sweetening leading to excessive accumulation of sugars in
most cultivars. The problem of low temperature induced sweetness can be overcome by
storing table and processing potatoes at higher storage temperature of 10-12 0C. When stored
at 10-120C the accumulation of sugars is minimum therefore, potatoes do not taste sweet and
are quite suitable for processing, unlike the potatoes stored at 2-4 0C. However, when stored at
10-120C, potatoes sprout and it is necessary to use sprout suppressants, i.e. which is
commonly called chlorpropham. Sprouting in stored potatoes can be controlled by treatment
with CIPC, liquid formulation of CIPC (Oorja, UPL, Mumbai, 50% a.i.) as spray @ 40
ml/tone of potatoes.

Potato cultivars with good keeping quality can be successfully stored for long durations (5-8
months) at 10-120C and used for processing in organized and unorganized sectors of potato
processing industry. Such potato can also be used as premium table purpose potatoes. Many
cold storage owners in UP, Maharashtra and Punjab have started selling these potatoes as
‘low sugar potatoes’ at significantly higher rates and consumers are showing their preference
for these potatoes.

FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS of cold storage

1. Five chambers of 1000 tonnes capacity

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2. Covered processing area for receiving, cleaning, grading, box filling, drying,
bagging and dispatch.
4. Induced ventilation and high humidity system for maintaining 92-95% humidity
and CO2 below 3000 PPM.
5. Facility for CIPC fogging.
6. Reception of loose potato in trolleys, dust removal, grading & box filling
(Loading period 25-30 days)
7. Continuous data logging of temperature, humidity and CO2