Pakistan can reduce the loss of agricultural products and increase the added value with the help of China’s cold chain technology, said Hefei Lianhui Refrigeration Equipment Co-Vice President Chen Lin.
Rice seed companies in Pakistan and China have a close cooperation between each other and to meet the demand of seed storage in Pakistan Chen began building an 800-square-metre seed cold storage warehouse with a rice company in 2017.
As per reports, Chen while talking to China Economic Net said, “Seed cold storage warehouse is widely used in Southeast Asia because seeds need to achieve a certain germination rate, which is mainly related to temperature and humidity indicators. If humidity exceeds 65%, the germination will be affected”.
He said that they deliver the equipment and cold storage plates to Pakistan and send technical personnel for equipment installation and training of Pakistani personnel, adding that, “Customers may encounter problems in production and processing, we need to give an overall solution”.
Chen further said, “The cold storage warehouse will be monitored remotely and the company will provide customer service. Although the cost of cold storage warehouse is not that high, the products stored in it are very expensive.”
Pakistan in recent years, has made breakthrough in the export of mangoes and citrus fruits to China, however, the country faces preservation problems. In this regard, Chen gave Pakistan an air conditioning fresh-keeping technology solution to resolve the preservation problems the country faces due month-long shipping cycle.
While sharing the insights about the technology, Chen explained, “Under the premise of ensuring the temperature and humidity of the products, the air-conditioned cold storage warehouse can keep the fruits dormant by adjusting the contents of oxygen and carbon dioxide, thus keeping the fruits in a relatively long storage period”.
He informed, “Mangoes and oranges can be stored for about three months, cherries for 45 days, kiwifruit for six months, apples for 3 to 6 months, and bayberries for about 30 days.”
“When the fruits are picked, they have residual heat,” Chen said, adding, “If they are immediately taken to a cold storage warehouse, the surface temperature drops, but the central temperature does not, this may lead to spoilage in fruits. Like some apples in the supermarket, they look good from the outside, but rotten on the inside, which is because they are not precooled properly. Cherries, kiwifruit and blueberries all need to be precooled.”
Aside from fruits vegetables can also benefit from quick freezing technology, Chen added, saying that the flowering Chinese cabbage, coming in the market in March, can be sold for 20 days.