The boom in Mexican agri-food exports is increasing the pressure on a component that has remained in the background for years: cold chain infrastructure. As products such as avocados, berries, beef, pork, and fish reach markets in North America, Europe, and Asia , experts warn that the sector’s competitiveness will increasingly depend on the ability to preserve food quality throughout the logistics chain.
For Emergent Cold LatAm , a company specializing in temperature-controlled storage and logistics, refrigeration infrastructure should be considered a strategic asset for foreign trade, on the same level as roads, ports, or energy networks.
“The cold chain is often seen as an operational necessity, when in reality it is a strategic economic infrastructure. Temperature-controlled infrastructure is fundamental to guaranteeing food supply, strengthening exports, and minimizing losses,” stated Juan Pablo Benítez, General Manager of Emergent Cold LatAm in Mexico and the Caribbean.
The challenge becomes even more relevant when considering that, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) , in Mexico around 20.4 million tons of food are lost or wasted annually, equivalent to 34% of national production, with an economic impact exceeding 400 billion pesos.
Globally, the organization estimates that about 14% of food is lost between harvest and distribution stages , highlighting the importance of having storage and transport infrastructure that maintains adequate preservation conditions.
Market forecasts indicate that this need will continue to grow. According to Mordor Intelligence , the Mexican cold chain logistics market will reach a value of $7.39 billion in 2026 and will maintain a compound annual growth rate of 4.9% through 2031, driven by the dynamism of agri-food exports and by stricter health and traceability requirements.
However, infrastructure development still lags. Refrigerated storage capacity continues to be concentrated mainly in the central, Bajío, and northern regions of the country , while the south faces capacity and connectivity limitations.
Furthermore, Mexico has approximately 15 million cubic meters of refrigerated storage capacity, significantly less than the more than 130 million cubic meters available in the United States. In addition, of the 176 refrigerated warehouses registered in the country, only 39% belong to specialized logistics operators, a situation that limits the standardization of processes and the adoption of specialized technologies.
Given this scenario, Emergent Cold LatAm believes that strengthening infrastructure will be crucial to supporting the growth of the agri-food sector. The company currently operates 36 temperature-controlled warehouses in Mexico and in 2025 opened new facilities in Monterrey and Guadalajara, with investments of $50 million and $30 million, respectively.
For Benítez, the future of Mexican food exports will depend not only on the country’s productive capacity, but also on having a logistics network capable of reducing losses , guaranteeing product quality, and responding to an increasingly demanding international market.
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