The Bangladesh Cold Storage Association has called upon the government to swiftly address the issue of rolling blackouts across the country.
In the absence of a consistent power input, perishable goods stored in cold storage facilities or freezers face the imminent risk of spoilage, posing significant challenges to the industry, they said.
Describing the severity of the situation, the association has recently dispatched a letter to the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources, urging their intervention.
Short on electricity generation inputs, Bangladesh has been witnessing frequent power cuts, which affects the entire country. The power cuts are more frequent in faraway districts and rural upazilas where most of the storage facilities are located.
In such a situation, the entrepreneurs of this sector have drawn the attention of the government to ensure an uninterrupted power supply for the industry.
According to the information of the association, there are more than 400 large and small cold storage facilities all over the country.
They usually store food agri produce such as potatoes (both for consumption, seed and export), industrial potatoes, fruits, fish, meat and other perishable items. These products are supplied throughout the year according to market demand.
Mostofa Azad Chowdhury Babu, senior vice-president of The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and president of the Cold Storage Association, said that it is not possible to maintain the freezing temperatures due to power outages.
As a result, the quality of the stored products deteriorates and there is a risk of rotting. This situation has caused financial losses for farmers, traders and cold storage owners, he added.
The business leader also expressed concern that if frozen products are damaged, the market for these products may become unstable.
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