- ELECTRICITY SUPPLY: Consumer demand for chilled and frozen foods initially depends on a cheap and reliable domestic electricity supply. Once fridges and freezers have been purchased and people have embraced such foods, power outages and rising electricity costs will not force average consumers to revert to old eating habits. They would not eat less frozen and chilled foods.
- SOCIAL PRESSURE: Social pressure in countries to consume chilled and frozen foods (derived mainly from TV advertising and sitcoms), has changed lifestyle perceptions. Their traditions in this area will prefer to the spread of frozen and chilled foods.
- MODERN TRANSPORT SYSTEMS: Roads need to be of a standard to allow large refrigerated vehicles to move quickly and reliably between the main cities, ports and production areas. If Country’s extensive rail network can accommodate new cold chain requirements, it could capture a percentage of this new business.
- HIGH GROWTH: In recessionary cycles, initially cold stores fill as retail sales decline although throughput volumes, another major revenue stream, decline. After eight to twelve months, if growth is still stagnant, processing plants close, which cuts the demand for cold storage on a more permanent basis.
- EMPHASIS ON PROFESSIONALISM: Likewise, there is now emphasis on the use of high quality cold store protective clothing, real time warehouse management systems and racking systems to increase capacity and accessibility.
ColdChainManagement.org 