Briefs: Pakistan: policy to support the cold chain

The Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) plans to put in place a cold storage/cold chain infrastructure in order to fight post-harvest losses which are a major economic issue, for exports in particular. It is claimed that 35-40% of the 13.7 million tonnes of annual production of fruit and vegetables is lost in the country due to poor post-harvest handling and inadequate storage and transportation facilities. This ratio is in line with the average ratio (40%) assessed for developing countries in the new IIR Informatory Note on Worldwide Nutrition (see page 2). An adviser of the Prime Minister of Pakistan said Pakistan had now only 12% of its warehousing requirements and needed an additional 88% in order to meet the tremendous demand for purpose-built and temperature-controlled warehouses.