Railways to set up cold storages, run fruit-vegetable trains

New Delhi, July 3 : The Indian Railways have decided to run special trains for perishables and set up cold storages and temperature-controlled cargo centres in an effort to eliminate food wastage and contribute to India's second green revolution.

'Railways will encourage creation of facilities of setting up cold storage and temperature-controlled perishable cargo centres and its transportation through public-private partnership mode,' Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee said while presenting the rail budget in the Lok Sabha Friday.

'Railways proposes to make a contribution to the second green revolution by introducing special trains to carry perishable products like fruits and vegetables and fish from identified production clusters to consumer centres and maintain quality and freshness of perishable produce,' the minister said.

The green revolution had made India self-sufficient in food production by investing in technologies that produced high-yielding seeds and transformed the irrigation system in key farming states.

According to the 'India Food Report 2008' of markets data provider Research and Markets, while developed countries process up to 80 percent of their produce, India lags far behind, resulting in much of its output going waste.

The Indian food industry is estimated at over $182 billion - or two-thirds of the country's retail sector.

Acknowledging the huge losses incurred by the country, Banerjee said: 'Our country at present suffers an unacceptable loss of about Rs.35-40,000 crore every year towards wastage of fruits and vegetables.'

Both the Economic Survey released Thursday and the 100-day agenda unveiled by the food processing industries ministry have called for developing cold storage and transport facilities in the country.

'We need to strengthen our cold chain and supply chain infrastructure and increase the number of processing hubs,' Food Processing Industries Minister Subodh Kant Sahai has said.

The Economic Survey, a status report on the economy and a policy document which suggests the way ahead, also had called for setting up modern logistics systems like cold supply chain jointly with other organised retailers.