What to ask a cold store before you send a truck

01The nine

• How many chambers are there, and would my consignment share one?
• What else would be in that chamber? A store holding apple and potato together is running two temperature requirements on one setting.
• What temperature and humidity do you hold, and how is it measured?
• Is the store bag, bulk or box, and what does that mean for my crop?
• What happens when the power goes — what backup, and for how many hours?
• What was the last consignment that came out badly, and who paid for it?
• Who handles loading and unloading, and whose labour is it?
• What are the terms if I take space and do not fill it?
• Who do I ring at two in the morning?

02Why the last one is not a joke

Cold stores fail at night, in season, when the person who can do something about it is asleep. Knowing whether there is such a person, and whether he answers, is worth more than a rupee or two on the rate.

03What not to decide on

Capacity alone. A large store that has never held your crop is a worse choice than a smaller one that has held it for a decade, and the difference does not show up in any listing — including ours.

04Common questions

What should I check before storing goods in a cold storage?

Chamber count and whether you would share one, what else is held in that chamber, the temperature and humidity actually maintained, whether the store is bag, bulk or box, power backup and its duration, and who is reachable at night. Ask what happened the last time a consignment came out badly, and who paid.

Does it matter what else is stored in the same chamber?

Yes. Different crops want different temperatures and humidity, and some produce ethylene that damages others. One chamber can only hold one set of conditions.

How important is power backup at a cold store?

It is the difference between a delay and a loss. Ask for genset capacity and how many hours the store can hold on backup at full load, not simply whether a generator exists.