Cracking the cold chain conundrum in APAC with Copeland President Michael Toh
1 Sep 20256 min read
Summary
- Asia-Pacific is the world’s largest producer of agricultural and food commodities and is expected to account for 53% of global agricultural and fish output by 2030. This scale makes cold chain logistics essential to food safety, trade efficiency, and climate sustainability, yet modernization across the region remains uneven.
- Many rural and developing areas still rely on outdated, high-GWP refrigeration systems, resulting in food losses and avoidable emissions. While investments in cold storage real estate are projected to surpass USD 2 billion by 2030, stronger policy support and energy standards are needed to ensure equitable and sustainable progress.
- Driven by urbanization and rising incomes, demand for perishable goods is expanding rapidly, placing pressure on cold chain infrastructure. Companies like Copeland are advancing low-GWP, IoT-enabled, and solar-powered solutions to build smarter, cleaner systems, while regional collaboration and targeted investment remain key to meeting climate and food security goals.
As the world’s largest producer of agricultural and food commodities, Asia-Pacific (APAC) is central to global food security. In an exclusive interview with Value Chain Asia, President of Asia-Pacific at Copeland, Michael Toh, noted that by 2030, the region is projected to contribute over half of global agricultural and fish output.
“
“APAC is the largest producer of agricultural and food commodities, and the region is expected to account for 53% of global agricultural and fish output by 2030. Beyond this, APAC also accounts for over 30% of global imports, and contributes 26% of global exports,” he said.
This production scale makes cold chain logistics not just an operational necessity, but a critical infrastructure for health, trade, and climate sustainability. This is to “ensure that food and produce is moved efficiently and safely.”Despite the sector’s importance, cold chain systems across APAC remain uneven, particularly in rural and developing areas. Many of these regions still rely on outdated refrigeration technologies that use high-global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants and lack energy management capabilities.
“
“Less modernised and rural areas in APAC still rely on outdated refrigeration technologies, he noted. “The slower adoption of high efficiency appliances can be attributed to multiple factors – transitioning to greener alternatives requires significant investment, technical expertise, and policy support, which can be limited in developing economies in APAC.”
Members Only Content
To read the full article and access exclusive content, please login or register as a member.
Member Benefits:
- • Full access to all articles
- • Exclusive industry insights
- • Apply Supply Chain jobs in asia