CHENNAI: REFCOLD India, 2023, a south Asian exhibition and conference dedicated to refrigeration and cold-chain technologies, commenced at the Chennai Trade Centre on Friday.

The three-day expo will host over 200 exhibitors, along with more than 10,000 visitors and innovators from retail, pharma, seafood, milk and dairy products, fruits and vegetables, frozen foods, food service, processing, production, distribution, logistics, and transportation Industries.

Organised in collaboration between the Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ISHRAE) and Informa Markets, REFCOLD India 2023 is set to redefine the industry landscape.

This event represents a significant step forward in the refrigeration and cold-chain sector, unveiling a vast potential cold-chain market of around Rs 4.3 trillion by 2027.

The inauguration was attended by dignitaries including Guest of Honour - Dr. R Velraj, Vice Chancellor, Anna University; Raja M Sriraam, Chairman, REFCOLD Chennai, ISHRAE; Yogesh Thakkar, National President, ISHRAE, Anoop Ballaney, National President Elect, ISHRAE and Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, Informa Markets in India.

India’s cold chain market is segmented into cold chain storage and cold chain logistics. As of 2022, logistics accounted for 55.42% of the total market share. By the end of 2027, the cold chain logistics segment is expected to hold a share of around 55.51% of the overall market.

The wastage levels in perishables in India are significantly high- 4.6- 15.9% in fruits, 5.2% in inland fish, 10.5% in marine fish, 2.7% in meat and 6.7% in poultry.