巴拉圭的冷链基础设施（英）

Introduction A cold chain system refers to the sequence of production and logistics processesthat enable the production, transportation, storage, and distribution of food,pharmaceuticals, immunobiological, agricultural inputs, cosmetics, and othertemperature-sensitive products under controlled temperatures. According to ThisFal Bulletinmaps the structure and capacity of the cold chain infrastructure in Paraguay,the availability of refrigerated transport fleets, storage facilities, airport and port infrastructure, Introduction I.Cold chain infrastructurein Paraguay TheFal Bulletinwas prepared by Rocío Aguayo, Roberto Salinas and Mical Rodríguez Laconichand is a summary of the document “Cold chain logistics: the case of Paraguay and territoriesalong the bioceanic corridor” (in press). For more information contact: miryam.saade@un.org. The United Nations and the countries it represents assume no responsibility for the contentof links to external sites in this publication. Mention of any firm names and commercial products or services does not imply endorsementby the United Nations or the countries it represents. The views expressed in this document, which has been reproduced without formal editing,are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Organization or the The boundaries and names shown on the maps included in this publication do not imply officialendorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. This publication should be cited as: Aguayo, R., Salinas, R. and Rodríguez Laconich, M. (2025).Cold chain infrastructure in Paraguay.FAL Bulletin(411). Economic Commission for Latin Americaand the Caribbean. Copyright © United Nations, 2025All rights reservedS.2500546[E] the goal of a cold chain system is to keep products safe for consumption, preserve theirnutritional characteristics, and maintain good organoleptic qualities. In the case ofimmunobiological and pharmaceuticals,whether for human or veterinary use,the objective isto preserve their immunizing and therapeutic properties.The term “chain”reflects a systemic There are various technologies available for cold generation. These technologies can coolor freeze products at different speeds, using either continuous or batch processes. Ingeneral, they are well-known and commercially available technologies. One of the maincost components of any system for generating and maintaining cold is energy. As a result,much of the technological effort has been focused on developing equipment that is more Temperature-sensitive agri-food and pharmaceutical products generally follow the samestorage standards. Storage and transportation temperatures throughout an agri-food chainvary depending on the type of product and the length of time it will be stored. Broadly •Freezing (at or below -18 °C): mainly used for meat, fish, ice cream, processed foods, etc.;•Refrigeration (0 to 10 °C): mainly used for seeds, certain fruits and vegetables; Table 1 presents another way of classifying cold storage methods by product type andtemperature range. In the case of cold chains for pharmaceuticals and immunobiologicals, the temperatureranges are similar to those used in agri-food chains. •Freezing (-10 to -20 °C);•Refrigeration (2 to 8 °C);•Cooling (8 to 15 °C). It is worth noting that some types of vaccines require storage in equipment that reachestemperatures as low as -70 °C for long-term storage. The technical grounds explained in the previous paragraphs help contextualize the relevanceand complexity of cold chain systems across different sectors. In light of these considerations,this document presents an exploratory assessment of cold chains for agribusiness products (i)Assess the installed capacity and operational characteristics of public andprivate cold storage facilities for agribusiness products and pharmaceutical/ (ii)Describe the broader cold chain infrastructure in Paraguay, including cold storagecapabilities at ports and airports, the availability of ultra-low-temperature facilities,and local production of refrigeration equipment. (iii)Analyze the availability and technical characteristics of refrigerated transportation fleets,used for the domestic and international logistics of temperature-sensitive products. (iv)Examine the organization and logistics of the national vaccine distribution system,including cold storage, refrigerated transport, and the role of the Ministry of PublicHealth and Social Welfare (according to its Spanish acronym MSPBS). (v)Propose public policy recommendations and regional development strategies tostrengthen cold chain logistics. This study adopted a mixed-methods approach to gather information, combining the useof secondary data with semi-structured interviews conducted with key stakeholders inParaguay's cold chain sector. The interviews were carried out remotely via synchronousonline platforms that allowed real-time interaction between interviewers and interviewees.The research design followed a