Cold chain for fish, milk and meat in Somalia

Where Xidig members may contribute

Service, skills and collaboration openings, not confirmed contracts or tenders:

• Ice and cold rooms at landing sites, where access is lowest (the 2025 survey found 25% in South West and 42.5% in Hirshabelle).
• Milk collection and chilling points on routes into towns.
• Solar cooling: installation, maintenance and rental models.
• Refrigeration technicians: Xidig found no in-country training course. Diaspora technicians could teach.
• Temperature records and traceability for exporters, now that China requires them.

Possible services, research, supplier or collaboration roles

• A shared cold room in one coastal town, serving fish and milk together.
• Ice supply contracts with fishing cooperatives (see How fishing cooperatives work in Somalia).
• A refrigeration skills course run with a local training centre.
• Research: mapping which landing sites and market towns lack ice, using the Ministry's 2025 survey as a starting point.

Who may find this useful

• Refrigeration and air-conditioning technicians.
• Solar installers and electrical engineers.
• Fish traders, milk traders and butchers.
• Food-safety and export-compliance professionals.
• Logistics and transport operators.

Losses and what exists today

Fish. The Somali Development and Reconstruction Bank estimates "post-harvest losses estimated at 30-40% of catches" (March 2025). In a 2025 survey for the Ministry of Fisheries and Blue Economy, 68.3% of respondents had access to ice or cold storage. Access varied widely, from 94.8% in Galmudug and 87.0% in Banadir to 42.5% in Hirshabelle and 25.0% in South West. Respondents named "poor cold-chain facilities" most often as a cause of price shocks.

Milk. A 2023 study of Mogadishu's milk trade found that "64% of the residual milk is dumped". A 2021 UNIDO study found that spoilt milk sells at a "25% to 40% lower price" and is moved "by pick-up vans without any refrigeration facility". In a 2021 USAID-funded camel-milk study, "No dairy farms had access to transport with a refrigerator"; vendors rented space in refrigerators owned by shops for US$0.2–0.5 a night.

Meat. Almost all livestock leaves Somalia live. The Somali Development and Reconstruction Bank says "99%" of livestock exports are live animals, and that Somalia exported about US$16M of fresh meat to the Middle East in 2023. A 2012 ILRI study found that "Air transport is currently the only available mode for chilled meat", so exports depend on cold storage at abattoirs and airports.

What already exists.

• World Bank fisheries project (Badmaal, US$55M, approved June 2024, to 2030). Its appraisal plans "cold stores" and "ice-production facilities", with solar replacing diesel, and its environmental summary says it will work with fisher organisations in about 15 communities.
• Mogadishu fish market. FAO and Japan announced a renovation of the Lido fish market in December 2025, covering "hygiene, storage, refrigeration, and handling".
• EU and FAO. Nine refrigerated trucks and six solar-powered ice machines went to coastal communities in Puntland, Galmudug and Mogadishu (handed over January 2021).
• Solar freezers. The ICRC gave 20 solar-powered freezers, with 20 boat engines, to fishers in Eyl in 2017.

Rules that raise the bar. Somalia agreed a protocol in July 2026 to export fish to China. Trade reporting says shipments need a health certificate, traceable origin and an intact temperature record. In August 2025 a fisheries competent authority was being developed to issue export health certificates.

Policy support. The Livestock Sector Development Strategy calls for solar and wind power "to reduce energy costs, especially for cold chains". Somalia's 2025 climate plan (NDC 3.0) includes "Solar cold storage networks to reduce post-harvest losses along livestock and agricultural value chains".

What this means. Cooling is the hidden dependency of the fish, milk and meat proposals. The government's proposals treat each sector separately, but one ice plant or cold room can serve fishers, milk traders and butchers in the same town.

Dependencies and implementation constraints

• Power: grid electricity is expensive, so solar is the likely source (see Solar power and battery storage in Somalia).
• Maintenance and spare parts: equipment fails without trained technicians.
• Water for ice making.
• Food-safety standards and certification for export.
• Overlap: new projects should link with the World Bank fisheries project and FAO work rather than duplicate them.

Risks and unknowns

• Loss figures: the 30–40% fish-loss figure is an estimate. Xidig found no measured loss figure for camel milk or meat.
• Asset upkeep: donor-funded machines have broken down elsewhere once support ended. Xidig found no follow-up reports on the machines listed above.
• Demand: willingness to pay for ice or cold storage varies by town.

Questions members should verify before acting

1. Which landing sites or market towns near you lack ice or cold storage today?
2. Does the World Bank fisheries project already plan a cold store there?
3. Who would pay for cooling: fishers, traders or a co-op?
4. What would power it, and who would maintain it?
5. What certification does an export buyer require?

What is confirmed, and what isn't

Confirmed

• The four proposals, their printed costs and their pre-feasibility stage.
• The Ministry's 2025 survey figures on access to ice and cold storage.
• The Badmaal project's cold-chain plans (World Bank, 2024).
• The EU/FAO refrigerated trucks and ice machines (2021) and the ICRC solar freezers in Eyl (2017).
• Cold-chain commitments in the Livestock Sector Development Strategy and NDC 3.0.

Our interpretation

• One cooling facility can serve several value chains in the same town.
• Ice, chilling and technician skills are the most practical member roles.

Not yet verified

• Measured losses for milk and meat.
• Whether fish exports to China began in September 2026.
• The current condition of donor-funded cooling equipment.

Relevant next steps

• Follow the Ministry of Fisheries and Blue Economy and the World Bank's Somalia fisheries project for cold-chain tenders.
• Refrigeration and solar professionals: note your skills and location in Xidig so groups can find you.
• Share local knowledge of ice prices and cold-storage gaps through Xidig.