China's Agricultural Cold Chain Logistics Develops Rapidly
In recent years, the state has continuously issued industrial policies encouraging cold chain infrastructure development, accelerating the release of policy dividends. In 2021, the State Council issued the “14th Five-Year Plan for Cold Chain Logistics Development,” the first five-year plan dedicated to cold chain logistics, comprehensively and systematically charting the direction and path for China's cold chain logistics development. Numerous industry-specific guidance, regulatory, and support policies have also been introduced in recent years. For instance, in April 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs formally launched the “Agricultural Product Storage, Preservation, and Cold Chain Facility Construction” project. Through measures such as grant-based subsidies, loan interest subsidies, and preferential electricity rates, it supports farmer cooperatives and family farms in building facilities for field storage and preservation, sorting and packaging, and post-harvest primary processing. By the end of December 2021, the project had supported the construction of approximately 52,000 facilities, adding over 12 million tons of storage capacity. It involved 1,800 counties (cities, districts), 7,000 townships, and 22,000 villages.
In recent years, China's cold chain logistics market has experienced rapid growth. Construction of national backbone cold chain logistics bases and production-to-market cold chain facilities has advanced steadily, with significant improvements in cold chain equipment standards. The industry's market size expanded from RMB 110 billion in 2012 to over RMB 380 billion in 2020, achieving a compound annual growth rate of 16.8%. Cold storage capacity reached nearly 180 million cubic meters, while the fleet of refrigerated trucks grew to approximately 287,000 units—roughly double and triple the figures recorded at the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan period, respectively. Logistics service models have undergone innovation and upgrading. China's cold chain logistics service providers have evolved from offering single-service warehousing or transportation/distribution to delivering integrated solutions for clients. These integrated services not only efficiently meet diverse client needs across multiple scenarios but also significantly enhance corporate competitiveness and bargaining power, greatly aiding cost reduction, efficiency gains, and scaled operations. Currently, China's leading cold chain logistics enterprises have achieved integrated network layouts, extending services from production areas to consumption hubs across the entire supply chain. Industry-leading companies have established origin warehouses equipped with integrated production lines for pre-cooling, preservation, grading, sorting, processing, packaging, and shipping. The spoilage rate for fresh agricultural products has dropped to just 3.3%, already below the levels seen in developed countries.
Driven by accelerated modern lifestyles, rapid internet development, shifting consumption habits among younger demographics, and the rise of new retail formats, the fresh food e-commerce sector has expanded rapidly. Within the cold chain logistics value chain, fresh food accounts for nearly 90% of the total volume. Amid the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and rapid consumption upgrades, China's fresh food e-commerce has spurred the swift development and transformation of agricultural cold chain logistics, demonstrating remarkable resilience and immense potential. Cold chain logistics provides the foundation and support for the rapid growth of the pre-cooked meal industry, with transaction volumes for pre-cooked meals increasing by 156% year-on-year in 2021.
Overall Insufficiency in Cold Chain Infrastructure Development
Currently, cold chain development remains inadequate with insufficient infrastructure deployment. From the “first kilometer” at origin to the “middle hundred meters” at distribution hubs, and on to the “last kilometer” at destination, cold chain coverage has yet to extend across all links of the supply chain. According to the “National Distribution Map of Cold Chain Logistics Enterprises” released by the China Cold Chain Alliance, China's cold storage capacity reached 52.24 million tons in 2021, meeting less than 20% of demand. The number of refrigerated trucks owned by legal entities reached 143,649, yet the refrigerated transport rates for fruits/vegetables, meat, and aquatic products stood at only 35%, 57%, and 69% respectively—far below the 90% average in Western developed countries. In terms of per capita capacity, China's cold storage stock stands at just 0.037 tons per person, with one refrigerated truck allocated per 10,000 people. Per capita cold chain facility ownership remains significantly lower than in the United States, Japan, and South Korea.
Regional and structural imbalances persist in cold chain infrastructure development. China's cold chain logistics infrastructure continues to exhibit disparities, with greater concentration in eastern regions and sales hubs compared to western regions and production areas. Among existing resources, outdated facilities remain prevalent, urgently requiring upgrades and optimized allocation. Particularly under the dual carbon goals, high-energy-consumption, low-output facilities and equipment must be phased out expeditiously. Rural front-end pre-cooling and port/hub cold chain facilities are notably insufficient, revealing regional and structural imbalances in cold chain logistics infrastructure distribution—spanning geographic coverage, production-to-consumption zones, and temperature-controlled functionalities.
Cold chain logistics costs remain high. Currently, the biggest challenge for fresh food e-commerce is excessively high logistics and warehousing expenses. Research indicates that logistics costs account for 30% to 40% of total expenses for fresh agricultural products in China, with spoilage rates reaching 10% to 15%. Storage costs, coupled with the limited shelf life of fresh goods, mean that temperature deviations during transport can easily lead to spoilage, crushing damage, and other issues. Consequently, cold chain logistics costs significantly exceed those of standard express delivery, making storage and logistics expenses the most critical pain point.
Cold chain disruptions persist. Insufficient rural cold chain infrastructure, frequent temperature deviations during transshipment and intermodal transfers, and challenges in maintaining consistent temperature control lead to high spoilage rates during the “first mile” and “middle hundred meters” of the supply chain. In storage and transportation, fresh produce is typically loaded into refrigerated containers before advanced cooling technologies are applied, with weak spatial planning. In large and medium-sized wholesale markets, refrigeration facilities often perform poorly. During the “soft link” between refrigerated trucks and cold storage, fresh frozen goods are frequently stored outdoors, and transfers and storage operations may deviate from the cold chain. For distribution, the predominant use of foam boxes or insulated bags, coupled with inadequate delivery routes, often results in goods melting or spoiling due to exposure to high temperatures during transit.
Breaking Through Bottlenecks in Rural-Urban Cold Chain Logistics for Agricultural Products
Insufficient investment in rural infrastructure. Currently, China's cold chain infrastructure investment is concentrated in first- and second-tier cities and coastal regions. Urban areas suffer from low per capita cold storage capacity, while rural front-end pre-cooling and hub-and-spoke cold chain facilities remain inadequate. Limited refrigeration and preservation equipment, coupled with the scarcity of refrigerated trucks reaching farm fields, are widespread issues. Moreover, field pre-cooling facilities often require supporting infrastructure such as water, electricity, roads, gas, housing, and information technology systems, yet rural development in these areas remains lagging. Incentives for profit distribution across cold chain segments are insufficient. Significant capital investment is required for infrastructure such as e-commerce warehousing and cold chain systems for agricultural products. Agricultural operators face prominent challenges including small scale, scattered distribution, diverse types, and difficult oversight, limiting their financial capacity to bear the high costs of cold chain construction. Public service platforms offering standardized warehousing and cold chain logistics to smallholder farmers and diverse new operators are particularly scarce. Given the high costs of refrigerated trucks, cold storage equipment, and temperature control terminals, independent investment by individual fresh food e-commerce platforms is impractical and uneconomical. This has spurred collaborations among fresh food e-commerce players or partnerships with third parties, raising issues of profit distribution—including operational gains and policy subsidies. Furthermore, challenges such as the inability to cultivate and retain cold chain professionals, coupled with slow progress in industrial informatization and digitalization, continue to constrain cold chain development.
In the future, it is essential to strengthen infrastructure and achieve interconnectivity, integrating digital technology throughout the entire supply chain. Talent should be encouraged to engage in the vast opportunities of rural revitalization, while capital should be reasonably guided toward investments in agricultural cold chain infrastructure. Efforts must be made to solidify the construction of cold chain infrastructure for agricultural product storage and preservation. Coordinate the effective use of central and local special support funds, clearly define the public welfare nature of cold chain construction, and strive to integrate rural revitalization funds, agricultural consolidation funds, and special bonds for concentrated investment in cold chain development. Focus on major production areas for fresh agricultural products and advantageous zones for specialty agricultural products to advance the construction of agricultural product storage, preservation, and cold chain logistics facilities, accelerating the elimination of shortcomings in origin-based cold chain logistics. Prioritize support for the construction of storage and cold chain facilities such as agricultural product origin warehouses, cold storage facilities, and refrigerated trucks. Ensure seamless integration and robust standardization across the entire agricultural product storage, preservation, and cold chain process. Align with the national cold chain logistics backbone network, leveraging freight hubs, major ports, railway logistics bases, and hub airports in key agricultural production areas, major distribution centers, and primary sales regions. Coordinate the planning and layout of cold chain logistics infrastructure to enhance transportation service functions including trunk-branch connectivity, regional distribution, and warehousing/delivery, thereby strengthening cold chain transportation support capabilities. Enhance compatibility and connectivity to achieve cold chain operations in the “first mile” of agricultural products. Ensure cold chain facilities for storage and preservation are functionally advanced, operate safely, and deliver sound economic benefits, enabling full traceability, monitoring, and visualization throughout the supply chain. Strengthen the development of cold chain logistics talent. Prioritize and enhance the cultivation of specialized cold chain technical personnel, improving the cold chain knowledge and professional skills of enterprise and agricultural business leaders. Intensify technical training to tangibly elevate the professional competence of the workforce. Explore diversified training models such as order-based training and cooperative education to enhance the technical expertise and management capabilities of enterprise and new business entity leaders. Strengthen the cultivation of cold chain technical talent in specialized vocational colleges and enhance the supply of rural cold chain technical personnel.
Elevate the digitalization and industrialization of the cold chain sector. Starting from the source of agricultural products, implement standardized grading and direct loading into standardized logistics containers. Equip facilities with standardized weighing scales, video capture systems, and temperature/humidity sensors to enable automated collection, aggregation, and unified release of cold chain preservation data. This provides data support for macro-level decision-making. Employ IoT technology for data tracking and monitoring, while blockchain ensures data integrity throughout the supply chain. Produce in crates undergoes direct pre-cooling before entering origin warehouses for storage and sorting. Commercial flow information connects directly with customers via e-commerce platforms. Implement intelligent allocation and distribution through digital logistics systems, leveraging digital interconnectivity to integrate resources and drive shared logistics innovation, significantly reducing logistics costs. Support the development of digital applications such as full-chain traceability for cold chain logistics, direct-supply cold chain logistics for agricultural products, and smart community cold chain delivery to optimize and improve “last-mile” delivery efficiency. Establish a cold chain logistics ecosystem that benefits farmers. Support new agricultural operators in forming alliances or equity investments to deepen cooperation with cold chain logistics enterprises, ensuring farmers share more benefits from cold chain development. All participants should enhance communication and collaboration. Leveraging favorable policies, market conditions, technology, and finance, they should build a cold chain economic ecosystem that creates synergistic effects, achieves value upgrades, and drives shared development.
(Author's Affiliation: Management Cadre College of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs)