Srinagar: India’s cold storage infrastructure is rapidly expanding. States like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Gujarat have emerged as the top states, but Jammu & Kashmir continues to remain absent from the list of states with significant capacity, despite being one of the country’s largest producers of apples, cherries and other perishable horticultural crops.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, India’s top ten states account for the bulk of cold storage facilities.
Uttar Pradesh leads with 151.01 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of capacity spread across 2,489 units, followed by West Bengal with 55.53 LMT, Gujarat at 40.43 LMT, and Punjab at 26.43 LMT.
Other high-capacity states include Andhra Pradesh & Telangana (19.68 LMT), Madhya Pradesh (14.99 LMT), Bihar (14.90 LMT), Maharashtra (12.60 LMT), Haryana (8.87 LMT), and Karnataka (9.30 LMT).
The latest data from the Department of Food and Public Distribution shows Madhya Pradesh topping the sanctioned storage infrastructure with 8,496 MT capacity sanctioned across 29 lakh projects, followed by Maharashtra, Haryana, and Punjab.
Subsidy releases have also been significant, with Madhya Pradesh alone receiving over ₹1,74,538 lakh in subsidy support.
The central pool storage capacity, managed by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state agencies, is also concentrated in a few regions.
As of July 2025, the North Zone (covering Punjab, Haryana, UP, etc.) had 564.26 LMT, while the East Zone (including West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, etc.) accounted for 203.12 LMT. The West Zone and South Zone also showed sizeable facilities.
Jammu & Kashmir missing from top rankings
Despite being India’s “fruit bowl,” J&K does not figure in the top ten states in terms of cold storage capacity or sanctioned storage projects. Industry experts say that farmers and traders in the Valley, especially in apple-growing districts like Shopian, Pulwama and Baramulla, continue to face losses due to lack of modern storage facilities. Post-harvest wastage remains a critical issue, reducing growers’ income and market competitiveness compared to states with better infrastructure.
Horticulture experts argue that unless Jammu & Kashmir significantly expands its cold storage and supply chain infrastructure, especially in all fruit producing hubs, the state’s horticulture sector will remain vulnerable.
“We produce world-class apples, cherries, pears, peach, etc but our farmers are forced to distress-sell because we don’t have enough cold storage or processing units,” said a Srinagar-based orchardist.
The way forward
Stakeholders believe that J&K requires urgent state and central government intervention to develop cold chain projects at par with leading states. The model adopted in Gujarat in recent years — combining subsidy support with private investment — could provide a template for the UT.
