SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has added 70 cold storage units, 33 collection centres and milk and fruit-handling infrastructure under the Centre’s Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure Scheme, creating preservation capacity of 0.48 lakh metric tonnes per annum and processing capacity of 0.34 lakh metric tonnes per annum, the Union Government told the Lok Sabha.
Data tabled by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries show that the facilities established in the Union Territory include milk storage and processing capacity of 3 lakh litres per day, five fruit ripening chambers with 5 metric tonnes per day capacity, five individual quick freezing (IQF) units with 5 MT per hour capacity, one blast freezer, and pre-cooling chambers handling 15.1 metric tonnes per day, besides the network of cold storages and aggregation points.
However, the reply indicates that no mobile pre-coolers, dedicated reefer transport vehicles or standalone sorting and grading lines have been created under the completed projects so far.
The scheme, implemented under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana, aims to build an uninterrupted cold chain from farm gate to consumer to reduce post-harvest losses and enable value addition for fruits, vegetables, dairy and other perishables.
Officials said the infrastructure is intended to support storage and handling of horticulture produce and milk in a region where seasonal harvests and long transport distances often lead to spoilage.
The details were provided in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
