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Photo courtesy of CT-Technologies
THE VISIONARIES “ Our vision is an interactive cold chain from first mile to end customer that is built with international expertise to the highest industry standards for cold storage to ensure compliance with international certifications ,” says Matthew Meredith , executive managing director , operations at Ifria . “ However , this does not necessarily mean the assets need to be very expensive . Facilities must be robust and not overengineered , with a simple and efficient operational layout .”
Matthew says Ifria has two integrated cold chain solutions .
The first are cold hubs – more sophisticated assets designed for airports , maritime ports , or agri-business industrial zones . The hubs offer efficient renewable energy integration with Phase I capacity for 5 000 pallets and direct cross-docking and other value-added services related to cold storage . The Phase I design integrates planned expansions .
The second integrated cold chain solution is a first mile network of on-farm , remotely monitored , post-harvest modular cold storage units capable of hold 1000 tons or 1000 to 2000 pallets , and available to growers as needed . Ifria accomplishes this through partnerships with first mile producers . “ We develop with ecosystem partners , programs intended for grant
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We2 Fisheries in Ghana . |
support that focus on an innovative business model that brings smaller-scale cold chain assets into an integrated model ,” says Meredith . “ I ’ m optimistic about building the cold chain in Africa . The need is here , there is a willingness to pay , we ’ ve done it before , and we have the people who know how to build a cold chain in emerging markets with capital and development partners who are willing to support this growth .
GROWING INTEREST The interest in Africa in building temperature-controlled warehouses for horticultural needs is growing , according to Thorsen . “ Some farmers are more interested in showing the quality of their products to exporters , while others want to reduce the waste and product loss , but overall , there is still a big need for solutions .”
Thorsen adds , “ There is a future vision of Africa becoming the centre of agriculture – the tropical fruits are the best quality in the world and of interest to many investors looking to establish cold chains to reduce the considerable loss of fresh fruit and vegetables . With more awareness and investment , the future looks promising in having more temperature-controlled facilities accommodating different products .”
As for frozen food cold storage , Thorsen believes the demand is stable for
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Photo courtesy Ifria
A cold storage facility in Ghana .
now but will be expected to increase as cold chains improve .
Benatar agrees there is increased interest in building temperature-controlled warehouses in Africa . “ There are some special funding opportunities through the World Bank and developers are seeing this as an opportunity ,” he says .
“ As the density of cities grows and the traffic congestion increases , the move to more formal trading will increase and so will the requirement for cold chain infrastructure ,” Benatar says . “ The pandemic and vaccines have also increased this requirement .”
Benatar believes the cold chain in Africa will continue to grow as supply chains get longer and more controls are put in place to ensure better quality and freshness for consumers . “ Eventually , these countries will legislate food safety ,” he says .
Meredith notes cold chain studies conducted by Ifria indicate as markets move from “ informal ” ( currently 80 %) to “ formal ” structures , food hygiene regulations increase , driving up demand for cold chain . Also , major international food retailers are
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GCCA
expanding in the region which is driving food value chains to improve quality and services . Meredith says this elevates the quality of the entire market .
“ Building the cold chain in Africa creates business opportunities along the supply chain , starting from the smallholder farmer to the sophisticated retailer ,” says Meredith . “ At the end of the day , an interconnected African cold chain can deliver profitable investment returns linked to broad-based impact and will help achieve a better standard of living in Africa ”.
This is article reprinted with permission of the Global Cold Chain Alliance . CLA
Lizelle van der Berg , Director of GCCA South Africa notes that GCCA works throughout Africa to help strengthen and develop the cold chain . Members have access to many postharvest , refrigerated transport , cold storage , and controlled environment construction resources .
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