What is onion cold storage?

In countries like India, where onion forms a part of a staple diet and is included in almost all food items, onion storage can play a pivotal role in stabilizing the prices. The instability and rather higher prices of onions affect the affordability for common man. Onion being categorized as a semi perishable produce; wastage is as huge as 30-40% of the total produce per year due to improper storage. In case of natural calamities, the losses can be more than 40% also and the inflation in price of onion badly affects the government and the end users.

Traditionally onion has been stored in India in low-cost thatched roof storage facilities for time immemorial. The structures are neither temperature controlled nor the relative humidity is controlled. Hence the duration of the storage is much less and the wastage really high. As much as 42% of the crop stored is lost in just four months of storage. There is a psychological weight loss, sprouting and rotting. The advantages of storing onion in a new age technically advanced cold storage is high. The wastage is as less as 5-7 % in comparison to 30-40%, the storage time is significantly higher by almost eight months and there is minimum sprouting even after taking out the crop from storage.