As Indian economy is based on agriculture, development of cold chain infrastructure will play a crucial role in reducing the losses and wastages, increasing the farmer income, generating employment opportunities for the local people, and improving the livelihood of the farmers which leads to developing the economy and helping India to emerge as a global leader in the food sector. The present study undertakes a thorough review of basic and contemporary literature available to explain the present status of and challenges to cold chain pertaining to the Fruits and Vegetables (F&V) sector in India. The study is an attempt to draw the attention of the stakeholders towards an urgent need to develop intelligent cold chain infrastructure which is the major impediment and a weak link in the supply chain of F&V sector in India. Cold chain infrastructure facilities include grading, sorting, packing, storage, processing and transportation facilities in the supply chain network.

Fruits and Vegetables (F&V) is a very growing sector and constitutes around 90% of horticultural produce in India. Production of horticultural crops in India has increased as compared to the situation a couple of decades ago. Several factors like globalization, increasing urbanization, nuclear families, working women, disposable income, changing lifestyles and rise of organized retails are gearing up the Indian fruits and vegetables supply chains for a better future. Supply chain plays a very vital role in this sector. This area becomes even more important because of perishability and very short shelf life. Supply Chain Management (SCM) not only helps to cut costs, but also adds to maintain and improve the quality of produce delivered, which are perishable in nature. India, the world’s second largest fruits and vegetables producer, is also one of the biggest wasters in the world, wasting 2 lakh cr worth of fruits and vegetables every year (ASSOCHAM, 2013). Owing to the very short shelf life and perishability, these items require proper transportation, handling and storage facilities in order to reach the customer in fresh state. Here, cold supply chain plays a very vital role in fulfilling the demand of the customer. Though India is an agrarian economy, it also faces various challenges in terms of infrastructure for fresh business. The infrastructure (road network, transportation, facilities, storage areas, etc.) has been a major barrier in the growth of agriculture sector. The cold chain infrastructure has been a weak link in the supply chain of fruits and vegetables as India has incurred huge losses due to poor post-harvest management and infrastructure facilities.

Supply Chain Management Journal, Cold Chain, Supply Chain Management (SCM), ASSOCHAM, Supply Chain in India, Weak Link, Fruits, Vegetables Supply Chain, Fruits and Vegetables (F&V), India.