EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
A group shot of everyone who attended the event in Vietnam.
of their business and revenue streams,
and that scepticism remains about the
ultimate financial viability of cold storage
investment. Additional constraints for
expansion of cold chain technology
include lack of consumer demand for it,
weak value chain coordination, limited
access to credit, and lack of advisory
capacity for small farms in remote areas.
Significantly, Anh noted that the
concept of sustainable food systems is
new to Vietnam, and that research on
appropriate low-cost technology for cold
chain management is lacking.
All of these challenges and constraints,
of course, spell opportunity. Anh cited
Vietnam’s export focus, growth in the
domestic modern retail market, and
John Mandyck, former chief sustainability officer at United Technologies, drew on material
from the book he co-authored, Food Foolish: The Hidden Connection Between Food Waste,
Hunger, and Climate Change.
Jon Shaw, Carrier Transicold and Refrigeration System’s director of global communications
and sustainability, mentioned that of all the perishable food produced in the world today,
only 10% is refrigerated.
Riccardo Savigliano, industrial development officer at UNIDO, talked about the role that
women play in the cold chain, in recognition of International Women’s Day.
the high levels of loss across multiple
food categories as opportunities for
cold chain investment, while also calling
for international cooperation in cold
technology research along with effective
policies to attract private investment in
cold value chain services.
Luong Quang Thi, general director
at ABA Cooltrans Vietnam, followed
with a logistics perspective on the
cold chain in Vietnam. Thi noted that
while the cold chain in Vietnam was
highly underdeveloped 10 years ago,
rapid urbanisation is bringing significant
opportunity. The challenge involves how to
ensure that food is transported from farms
to cities in good quality, while still fresh and
safe. Thi noted that Vietnam currently has
a fragmented and underdeveloped cold
chain, with a low application rate of cold
chain to fresh food products (meat, dairy,
fruits, and vegetables) as a result.
Thi also stated that the birth of
modern retail is driving the opportunity
for cold chain development, although
the predominance of small format
(convenience) stores creates logistical
challenges for cold chain providers.
He pointed to three specific local cold
chain challenges, including: 1) extreme
focus on cost, which leads to decreased
quality as supply chain participants
take shortcuts to save money; 2) breaks
in the cold chain that occur due to
excessive fragmentation (that is, too many
participants with too many operating
methods); and 3) not enough customers
see the value of the cold chain, which
impacts demand for it.
Thi closed by stressing the importance of
collaboration and partnerships to upgrade
the cold chain while balancing investment
costs reasonably to deliver a ‘greener’ and
more sustainable Vietnam.
Hamza Harti, country director at FM
Logistic Vietnam, followed, providing
a detailed operational view of food
transport issues. Harti began by noting
that fresh food comprises more than 60%
of consumption in Vietnam as compared
to 35–40% in Western Europe — again
signifying the importance of a robust
COLD LINK AFRICA • November/December 2018
www.coldlinkafrica.co.za
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