China's cold-chain logistics sector has sustained steady expansion in the first quarter of the year, driven by policies stimulating spending, industry data showed on Sunday.
The total cold-chain logistics amounted to 2.21 trillion yuan (about 306.6 billion U.S. dollars) during the first quarter of 2025, up 4 percent year-on-year, and the total revenue from cold chain logistics grew by 3.9 percent, reaching 136.13 billion yuan in Q1, according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).
In particular, the fruit and vegetable wholesale market saw a basically even trading volume compared to the same period last year, with vegetable transactions increasing by approximately 5 percent. The retail market experienced growth, with online sales of fruits and vegetables rising by more than 15 percent, while sales of frozen food in the offline market increased by about 10 percent.
"The fresh food e-commerce, direct shipments, and instant retail services enjoy rapid growth, which highlights the crucial role that cold chain logistics plays in supporting the development in these fields," said Qin Yuming, secretary-general of the Cold Chain Logistics Committee of the CFLP.
As the weather gets warm, the demand for fresh agricultural products including fruits, vegetables, dairy, and frozen foods is expected to rise, particularly during the upcoming holiday season. The increase in product sales is expected to further drive growth in cold chain logistics, with continued expansion in both market scale and demand throughout the second quarter.
In the first quarter, the total investment of China's cold chain logistics project reaching 8.74 billion yuan (about 1.21 billion U.S. dollars), increasing about 9.4 percent from a year earlier, according to CFLP release.
Moreover, the cold chain transportation for products like fruits, beef, and fresh seafood has become more active in China as the country’s cross-border logistics channels continue to optimize. Direct flights and new transport modes integrating trains with cold chain logistics are bringing an increasing number of high-quality foreign agricultural products to Chinese consumers' tables.
Notably, many cold chain processing companies focusing on overseas market are shifting the focus to domestic markets and diversifying their strategies to enhance competitiveness while facing the global trade uncertainties, according to a recent survey by the CFLP’s Cold Chain Logistics Committee.
"Many export-oriented enterprises in China are expanding into emerging markets through multi-channel business strategies in regions like Latin America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia. At the same time, we are seeing a growing number of these companies ramp up efforts to develop the domestic market, focusing on offering higher-quality products to meet the demands of consumers in China," said Qin.
China's cold chain logistics market expands steadily in Q1 2025
