THE Philippines can reduce post-harvest losses and improve food security by locating cold storage and fulfillment facilities closer to agricultural production areas and adopting shared cold chain models accessible to farmers and agribusinesses, according to a Fast Logistics Group executive.
The country’s cold chain strategy should focus less on expanding storage capacity and more on where facilities are built and how they’re used, said Fast Logistics business unit head for cold chain operations Marc Anthony Dizon at the 2026 Mid-Year Food and Agribusiness E-Conference, organized by the University of Asia and the Pacific-Center for Food and Agribusiness.
The Philippines needs around 1.4 million pallet positions to meet annual food consumption needs, but currently has only about 860,000, Dizon pointed out, with most capacity concentrated near consumption hubs like Metro Manila rather than production areas.
Locating cold rooms and processing facilities near harvest or livestock sites allows products to be sorted, cleaned, and processed closer to the source, he said. This means only market-ready goods are transported — cutting waste, improving transport efficiency, and lowering logistics costs, while reducing the need for processing operations in high-cost areas like Metro Manila.
Proximity to production also enables shared infrastructure, Dizon said. Rather than each small producer building individual facilities, multiple growers can use shared processing, warehousing, and transport resources, allowing operators to benefit from higher utilization and economies of scale.
He advocated for a shared cold chain model where businesses share warehouse and transport infrastructure while maintaining dedicated storage environments suited to each commodity’s temperature, humidity, and food safety requirements.
This does not mean mixing different commodities — such as onions, which need different storage conditions than other produce, meat, or seafood — within the same space, Dizon said.
“Shared cold chain is about [using] infrastructure efficiently while maintaining commodity-specific storage zones and food safety standards,” he said, noting the model gives small and medium enterprises access to cold chain capabilities that would otherwise require heavy capital investment.
He also cited rising fuel costs from the US-Iran war as underscoring the need for cost-efficient, shared logistics solutions.
Beyond physical infrastructure, Dizon called for greater use of digital technologies, including a comprehensive agriculture database supported by analytics, to strengthen inventory visibility, demand forecasting, and distribution planning nationwide.
“Food security is not just about producing more food. It’s about ensuring we have the logistics infrastructure and technology to preserve food quality, reduce waste, and move products efficiently from farms to consumers,” he said.