Lack of cold storage limits fruit sector, hurts farmers in Vietnam

Ju Liang, a specialist from China's Yunnan Agricultural University who has worked in Vietnam for more than 20 years, said the sector lacks a critical 'buffer zone' of modern cold storage, citing last year's durian glut when large volumes were trucked from southern regions to Hanoi and sold cheaply on sidewalks.

Vietnam has about 117 professional cold storage facilities nationwide, nearly 90 percent designed for frozen meat and seafood, with few temperature-controlled systems suitable for fresh fruit such as durian, mangosteen, and dragon fruit, according to industry data.

Ju contrasted this with Zhouzhi county in China, a kiwi production hub with more than 3,000 dedicated fruit cold stores, where storage is a profitable business and costs range from 0.2 to 0.6 yuan ($0.03–0.09) per kg per month.

He said such infrastructure allows farmers to delay sales until peak demand periods, helping avoid price drops during harvest seasons and improving returns.

Vietnam could develop national cold storage hubs in northern border provinces such as Lang Son, close to key land crossings with China, to support storage and quality control before export, he added.

According to domestic firms, the country's cold chain remains fragmented, with many small, traditional warehouses lacking modern technology and sometimes storing mixed goods, affecting export quality.

Nguyen Hoang Hai, chief executive of New Era Cold Storage (NECS), said his company has invested more than VND2 trillion ($76 million) in automated cold storage systems using robotics and integrated management platforms, including bonded cold warehouses that allow deferred tax payments.

However, Hai said weaknesses also lie before storage, as agricultural products often lack the standardized processing and packaging required to enter cold supply chains.

Luong Quang Thi, CEO of ABA Cooltrans, said the absence of adequate post-harvest storage forces farmers to sell quickly as product quality deteriorates within hours, effectively shifting pricing power to buyers.

Post-harvest losses in Vietnam are estimated at 20-40 percent, equivalent to $3.5-4.1 billion annually, he said.

While storage costs are relatively low at about VND20 per kg per day, Thi said the main constraint is the lack of a widespread, accessible cold chain network near farming areas.

Industry participants called for dedicated logistics land planning, lower electricity tariffs for cold storage and long-term financing to expand infrastructure, saying delays risk weakening the competitiveness of Vietnam's agricultural exports.