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Anthony Dizon, Cold Chain Association of the Philippines president, is cautiously optimistic about the cold storage industry’s medium-term prospects
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Challenges such as geopolitical instability; chronic infrastructure deficit; and high electricity costs are a hindrance to the sector’s momentum
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Dizon said he expects the industry to have 1.4 million pallet positions by 2030
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He said the agriculture sector posted its highest growth in recent history at 3.1% in 2025, driving cold chain demand
Anthony Dizon, Cold Chain Association of the Philippines (CCAP) president, is cautiously optimistic about the cold storage industry’s medium-term prospects even as he cited a number of challenges, including geopolitical tensions, as hindrance to the sector’s momentum.
At the recent PASIA Logistics Summit 2026 at the Marriott Hotel Manila, Dizon said he expects the industry to have 1.4 million pallet positions by 2030.
He pointed to the agriculture sector’s 3.1% growth in 2025, the highest in recent history, as a natural demand driver for cold chain services.
He also cited a raft of government initiatives providing policy and infrastructure tailwinds: the National Food Hub in Clark City, expected to be operational by 2027; Department of Agriculture cold storage projects in Bicol and Oriental Mindoro; and regulatory reforms under Republic Act 10611, or the National Food Safety Act, including mandatory registration and accreditation of food handling establishments.
“(All) these opportunities have laid the groundwork for further industry growth and hopefully will create more interest among local and foreign investors to participate in the development of the cold chain industry,” Dizon said.
But the industry faces a formidable set of challenges. The CCAP president identified four: geopolitical instability and its effect on investor sentiment; the country’s chronic infrastructure deficit complicated by its archipelagic geography; electricity costs that rank among the highest in Southeast Asia; and African swine fever, which has ravaged the livestock sector, a key client of the clod storage sector, for seven years.
“We have to understand that whatever effects these aberrations may have on specific areas like energy will also have an impact directly and indirectly on the cold chain industry,” Dizon said.
On infrastructure, he noted: “(We) are an archipelago and we need transport logistics support for bringing goods from source to distribution points around the country.”
He welcomed the government’s launch of ten port projects nationwide, all expected to be completed before the end of the Marcos Jr. administration in 2028. The country’s high power costs, he added, are being partially addressed through a push to integrate more renewable energy into the supply mix.
On innovation, CCAP is leveraging its affiliations with the Global Cold Chain Alliance, the Taiwan Cold Chain Association, and the Indonesian Cold Chain Association to access technologies and methodologies that improve operational efficiency and cut costs.
The association has been actively rolling out artificial intelligence applications in warehouse operations and transport management systems, while working with the Department of Trade and Industry on market development initiatives targeting regional and international opportunities.
Looking ahead, Dizon said population growth, economic recovery, shifting consumer lifestyles, and emerging markets will be the primary engines driving the industry toward its 2030 capacity target. But he cautioned that the cold chain is only one link in a longer chain.
“(The) cold chain is just one of the components of the overall supply and value chain. The operative word is still ‘supply.’ That said, we need to work hand-in-hand with other stakeholders, particularly those at the production end, to ensure that we adopt a whole-of-country approach in addressing domestic needs and establishing a competitive position in the international marketplace,” Dizon said.
He concluded by urging the industry to adopt new technologies and cross-sector collaboration as the two main drivers of long-term resilience.
PortCalls was a media partner at the PASIA Logistics Summit 2026. – Michael Barcas
