UK cold storage capacity tops 40 million m3
UK: The cold storage capacity of Cold Chain Federation members has increased by more than 10% in the past 12 months.
As a result of the industry’s investment in building new or expanding existing facilities, the UK cold storage capacity of the Federation’s members now tops 40 million cubic metres at 40,860,853m3 or the equivalent to the bowl volume of 35 Wembley Stadiums.
Cold Chain Federation member companies operate 460 cold stores, accounting for the vast majority of cold storage capacity in the UK.
Speaking in advance of World Refrigeration Day this Sunday, Cold Chain Federation policy director Tom Southall said: “Cold storage is an absolutely critical part of national and global food and pharmaceutical supply chains, enabling the resilient and reliable supply of safe, high quality fresh and frozen products whilst also radically reducing food waste and the associated carbon impact. The importance of our nation’s cold storage capacity came to the fore during the pandemic but there has been very strong demand for cold storage space in the UK for some years.
“The continued growth in UK cold storage capacity is great news for the UK’s food resilience, great news for our economy with significant investment both from abroad and from within the UK, great news for consumers who benefit from resilience in the food supply chain, and great news for our industry as it continues to grow and turns towards an exciting future. Passing 40 million cubic metres of storage space operated by Cold Chain Federation members is cause for pride and celebration this World Refrigeration Day.”
The new cold storage capacity data will be published as part of the Federation’s Cold Chain Report 2022 next month.
