The Evolution of Fruit and Vegetable Logistics

Posted by ravi on August 29th, 2018

Below are the reasons mentioned for the acceleration is shelf life reduction - 

1. Rough handling of the crops- It is likely that fruits and veggies go wrong because they were handled more than necessary
2. Early harvesting of fresh produce- Sometimes early harvesting of fruits and vegetables before they reach the adequate maturity can  lead to a shorter shelf life
3. Poor infrastructure and refrigerated transportation- Since all the transportation is done by road, from the farmer to the ultimate consumer, it happens that it leads to a decrease in the shelf life of the fruits and vegetables due to improper handling during loading, unloading, overloading, rough roads etc.
4. Storage- There is an acute shortage of storage facilities at the farm level. Also, some of the fruits and vegetables are required to be cold stored at various intervals lacking which the temperature rises the, therefore, resulting in acceleration of shelf life reduction. 

To remove or to minimize the effects of the above reasons for a shorter shelf life there has been a change in the process of handling the produce beginning from the time of production to the time it reaches its ultimate consumers.

Previously the method used, also known as the traditional model ended up wasting a lot of fruits and vegetables and resulted in huge monetary losses. Traditional Model is a complex chain for the supply flow of Fruits and vegetables which is till date followed in the Indian agricultural sector.

In this model, the farmers sell their produce to the consumers via various intermediate partners like agents, wholesalers, cart vendors, traditional retailers, etc.  Now with the change in technology, a faster more cost effective way of transportation and process of fruit and vegetable logistics has come up.

In recent years, the fruit and vegetable logistics has had a shift towards the hub-and-spoke model. In Hub-and-spokes model, transport collects the shipments (fruits and vegetables) from its point of origin (the farmer) and transport it back to the central processing facility (the hub). This model has made the transportation method less time consuming and more cost effective.

And since it takes comparatively less time to reach the produce from farmer to the consumer, the shelf-life for the consumer automatically increases. 

In conclusion, the evolution of vegetable and fruits logistics in India from the traditional model to the hub-and-spoke model has been proven as a game changer. It is a faster, smarter and most efficient way to transport the produce and to prolong its shelf life.