Unsatisfied market potential, growth in demand and the need for improvement all mean that there are a lot of opportunities for investment in cold storage facilities in China, according to Clement Lam, director and general manager of Swire Pacific Cold Storage.

"We do believe that the percentage of products being transported and stored in proper cold chain facilities will increase disproportionately to the growth of capacity," said Lam, who was speaking at the first Cool Logistics Asia conference in Hong Kong, during a session on cold chain investment projects.

Demand for cold storage will grow because of urban renewal, an increase in imports and a focus on quality, said Lam.

There is also a need for improvement because food safety is the third largest problem in the eyes of the public.

"As long as food safety is among the top four categories, we think this is going to be a necessary investment," said Lam. "What we're building is the necessary infrastructure to facilitate the safe transport and logistics of food products."

By Jeffrey Lee

Staff Writer | Hong Kong

[The full version of this story will be published in the next issue of Asia Cargo News.]