China: Cold Supply Chain

The growing Chinese market offers important business opportunities in the fresh food sector as cold chain supply services and infrastructure are largely underdeveloped. Greater demand for cold-chain services is driven mainly by a growing segment of consumers demanding quality, a concern on food safety shared both by consumers and government, and a common sense search for economic efficiency from suppliers, distributors, and retailers. Cold-supply chain business opportunities exist in China today for new entrants in building stand-alone infrastructure, such as distribution centers, providing third party logistics services to retailers, and promoting integration along the supply chain. These opportunities will keep growing, however, to profit in this sector, large international investors must recognize the diversity of provincial markets, the widely varying income segments of the Chinese population, and the importance of long term business and government relations.