Vietnam Cold Chain Market Outlook to 2035

The report titled “Vietnam Cold Chain Market Outlook to 2035 – By Storage Type, By Temperature Range, By End-Use Industry, By Service Type, and By Region” provides a comprehensive analysis of the cold chain logistics industry in Vietnam. The report covers an overview and genesis of the market, overall market size in terms of value, detailed market segmentation; trends and developments, regulatory and compliance landscape, buyer-level demand profiling, key issues and challenges, and competitive landscape including competition scenario, cross-comparison, opportunities and bottlenecks, and company profiling of major players in the Vietnam cold chain market. The report concludes with future market projections based on food system modernization, pharmaceutical cold chain expansion, organized retail growth, export-oriented agri-food supply chains, regional infrastructure development, cause-and-effect relationships, and case-based illustrations highlighting the major opportunities and cautions shaping the market through 2035.

Vietnam Cold Chain Market Overview and Size

The Vietnam cold chain market is valued at approximately ~USD ~ billion, representing the provision of temperature-controlled storage, transportation, and value-added logistics services across frozen, chilled, and controlled ambient categories. The market encompasses cold storage warehouses, refrigerated transportation fleets, last-mile cold distribution, blast freezing, ripening chambers, and integrated cold logistics solutions catering to food, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, seafood, and industrial perishables.

The market is anchored by Vietnam’s rapidly expanding agri-food exports, rising domestic consumption of frozen and chilled food products, increasing penetration of modern retail formats, and growing pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution requirements. Cold chain infrastructure has become a critical enabler for reducing post-harvest losses, improving food safety compliance, extending shelf life, and meeting export quality standards across seafood, fruits, vegetables, meat, and processed food categories.

Southern Vietnam represents the largest cold chain demand center, driven by the concentration of seafood processing hubs, export ports, industrial zones, and large urban consumption markets such as Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta. The Northern region shows strong growth momentum supported by pharmaceutical manufacturing clusters, cross-border trade with China, and rising cold storage requirements around Hanoi and Hai Phong. Central Vietnam remains an emerging market, with demand linked to seafood processing, agricultural aggregation, and gradual expansion of organized food distribution networks. Across regions, cold chain capacity remains structurally undersupplied relative to demand growth, particularly for modern multi-temperature, compliance-ready facilities.

What Factors are Leading to the Growth of the Vietnam Cold Chain Market:

Expansion of agri-food exports and seafood processing strengthens structural cold storage demand: Vietnam is among the world’s leading exporters of seafood, fruits, vegetables, and processed food products, with exports increasingly subject to stringent temperature control, traceability, and quality standards imposed by global buyers. Cold chain infrastructure is essential across harvesting, pre-cooling, processing, storage, and export logistics stages to minimize spoilage and preserve product quality. Export-oriented processors and traders are increasingly investing in or outsourcing to third-party cold storage and refrigerated transport providers that can support multi-temperature handling, peak season volume surges, and proximity to ports and production zones. This export-driven demand creates long-term structural growth for modern cold storage capacity across coastal and agricultural regions.

Growth of organized retail, foodservice, and frozen food consumption accelerates domestic cold chain usage: Vietnam’s urbanization, rising disposable incomes, and changing consumer preferences are driving increased consumption of frozen foods, chilled dairy, meat, ready-to-eat meals, and imported perishables. The expansion of modern trade formats such as supermarkets, convenience stores, and quick-service restaurants requires reliable cold logistics networks to ensure consistent product quality and availability. Unlike traditional wet markets, organized retail depends heavily on centralized cold storage, temperature-controlled distribution, and last-mile refrigeration. This shift is gradually increasing cold chain penetration within domestic food supply chains and driving demand for scalable, city-proximate cold storage facilities.

Pharmaceutical manufacturing and healthcare distribution raise compliance-driven cold chain requirements: Vietnam’s pharmaceutical sector is expanding across generic drug manufacturing, vaccines, biologics, and healthcare imports, all of which require controlled temperature storage and distribution. Regulatory emphasis on Good Distribution Practices (GDP), vaccine integrity, and cold chain compliance in healthcare has increased the need for validated cold storage facilities, real-time temperature monitoring, and specialized pharma logistics services. Cold chain operators capable of meeting healthcare-grade standards, documentation requirements, and audit readiness are increasingly preferred by pharmaceutical manufacturers, importers, and public health agencies. This compliance-driven demand supports higher-value cold chain services and encourages investment in modern infrastructure and digital monitoring systems.

Which Industry Challenges Have Impacted the Growth of the Vietnam Cold Chain Market:

High capital intensity and limited access to long-term financing constrain capacity expansion: Cold chain infrastructure development in Vietnam is capital intensive, requiring significant upfront investment in insulated buildings, refrigeration systems, power backup, automation, and temperature monitoring technologies. For many domestic logistics providers and agri-traders, access to long-tenure, competitively priced financing remains limited, particularly outside major urban and port regions. As a result, cold storage capacity expansion often lags demand growth, and projects are executed in smaller phases rather than at optimal scale. This financing constraint slows the pace of modern cold warehouse development and limits the availability of multi-temperature, compliance-ready facilities across secondary production clusters.

Fragmented supply chains and low cold chain penetration at the farm and first-mile level reduce utilization efficiency: Despite strong downstream demand from exporters, retailers, and processors, Vietnam’s agricultural supply chains remain highly fragmented at the farm and aggregation level. Limited adoption of pre-cooling, packhouse infrastructure, and first-mile refrigerated transport leads to temperature breaks before products enter formal cold storage facilities. This reduces overall cold chain efficiency, increases spoilage risk, and limits the full value realization of downstream cold storage investments. For cold chain operators, uneven upstream practices result in inconsistent utilization rates and make it challenging to design fully integrated, end-to-end temperature-controlled logistics solutions.

Power reliability, energy costs, and operational complexity impact cost competitiveness: Cold storage operations are energy-intensive and highly sensitive to power availability, electricity pricing, and system reliability. In certain regions of Vietnam, power interruptions, voltage fluctuations, and rising energy costs increase operational risk and necessitate investment in backup power systems and redundant refrigeration capacity. These factors elevate operating costs and can impact service pricing, particularly for frozen storage and blast freezing operations. Smaller operators with limited scale face margin pressure, while customers remain price-sensitive, creating a challenging balance between cost recovery and service quality.

What are the Regulations and Initiatives which have Governed the Market:

Food safety, quality control, and export compliance regulations shaping cold chain requirements: Vietnam’s food safety regulatory framework, along with export market requirements imposed by importing countries, governs temperature control, hygiene standards, traceability, and handling practices across food and seafood supply chains. Compliance with standards related to storage temperature, handling protocols, and documentation is increasingly mandatory for exporters and processors. These requirements indirectly drive demand for compliant cold storage facilities, validated processes, and temperature-monitored transportation, while also increasing the importance of audit readiness and certification among cold chain service providers.

Pharmaceutical distribution guidelines and cold chain compliance standards influencing infrastructure design: Regulations governing pharmaceutical storage and distribution, including temperature control for vaccines, biologics, and sensitive medicines, shape cold chain infrastructure specifications in Vietnam. Requirements related to Good Distribution Practices (GDP), temperature mapping, alarm systems, and data logging influence warehouse design, equipment selection, and operating procedures. Cold chain operators serving pharmaceutical clients must invest in higher-grade refrigeration systems, monitoring technologies, and documentation capabilities, which raises entry barriers but supports the development of specialized, higher-value cold chain services.

Government-led logistics modernization and infrastructure development initiatives supporting long-term growth: Vietnam’s broader logistics development policies, including investments in ports, industrial zones, agri-logistics hubs, and transport connectivity, create a supportive environment for cold chain expansion. While there is no single cold-chain-specific mandate, initiatives aimed at reducing post-harvest losses, improving export competitiveness, and strengthening food supply chains indirectly promote cold storage and refrigerated logistics adoption. Over time, improved infrastructure planning, clearer land allocation for logistics parks, and public–private collaboration is expected to lower entry barriers and support more organized cold chain development across regions.

Vietnam Cold Chain Market Segmentation

By Storage Type: The cold storage warehouse segment holds dominance. This is because centralized and multi-user cold storage facilities form the backbone of Vietnam’s temperature-controlled logistics ecosystem, particularly for seafood exports, frozen food processing, and agri-commodities. These facilities support bulk storage, seasonal inventory buildup, and consolidation for export and domestic distribution. While refrigerated transportation and last-mile cold distribution are growing rapidly, cold storage warehouses continue to capture the largest share due to their capital-intensive nature, longer asset life, and critical role in stabilizing supply chains across regions.

Cold Storage Warehouses (Frozen & Chilled)  ~55 %
Refrigerated Transportation (Line-haul & Intercity)  ~25 %
Last-Mile & Urban Cold Distribution  ~10 %
Value-Added Cold Services (Blast Freezing, Ripening, Packaging)  ~10 %

By Temperature Range: Frozen storage dominates the Vietnam cold chain market. This is driven by the country’s strong seafood processing industry, frozen meat exports, and growing frozen food consumption in urban markets. Frozen storage requires higher capital investment, energy intensity, and technical capability, which increases its value share. Chilled storage continues to grow steadily, supported by dairy, fresh produce, pharmaceuticals, and modern retail supply chains, while controlled ambient remains a niche but emerging category.

Frozen (-18°C and below)  ~50 %
Chilled (0°C to 8°C)  ~35 %
Controlled Ambient / Specialized Temperature  ~15 %

Competitive Landscape in Vietnam Cold Chain Market

The Vietnam cold chain market is moderately fragmented, characterized by a mix of large domestic logistics groups, specialized cold storage operators, regional players, and international cold chain service providers. Market competition is shaped by facility location, temperature range capability, compliance standards, energy efficiency, service reliability, and proximity to ports, production hubs, and urban consumption centers. While a few large players dominate modern cold storage capacity in key regions, a significant portion of the market still operates through smaller, single-site facilities with limited automation and temperature range flexibility.

International players and joint ventures tend to focus on large-scale, export-facing, and pharma-compliant facilities, whereas domestic players compete aggressively on pricing, regional coverage, and relationships with seafood processors and agri-exporters. As demand shifts toward integrated, multi-temperature, and compliance-ready solutions, competitive differentiation is increasingly based on technology adoption, monitoring systems, and the ability to offer end-to-end cold logistics services.

Some of the Recent Competitor Trends and Key Information About Competitors Include:

ABA Cooltrans: ABA Cooltrans has emerged as one of Vietnam’s leading domestic cold chain players, with a strong footprint across cold storage, refrigerated transportation, and integrated food logistics. The company’s competitive advantage lies in its multi-temperature capabilities, proximity to export hubs, and ability to serve both multinational and local food companies with consistent service quality.

Lineage Logistics: Lineage’s entry into Vietnam reflects increasing international investor interest in Southeast Asia’s cold chain infrastructure. The company focuses on large-scale, technology-driven cold storage facilities near ports and production zones, targeting global food exporters and multinational clients seeking standardized, compliance-ready solutions.

Transimex Cold Storage: As part of a diversified logistics group, Transimex benefits from integrated port-adjacent operations and long-standing relationships with exporters. Its cold storage assets support seafood and agri-exports, with competitiveness rooted in location advantage and end-to-end logistics integration.

Minh Phu Cold Storage: Integrated players such as Minh Phu operate captive cold storage facilities primarily serving internal seafood processing operations. While not pure-play logistics providers, such integrated facilities represent a significant share of Vietnam’s frozen storage capacity and influence seasonal utilization patterns in the market.

DHL Supply Chain / Konoike Transport: International logistics providers participate selectively in Vietnam’s cold chain market, focusing on high-compliance segments such as pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and premium food supply chains. Their competitive positioning is based on global process standards, audit readiness, and reliability rather than price competition.

What Lies Ahead for Vietnam Cold Chain Market?

The Vietnam cold chain market is expected to expand steadily through 2035, supported by long-term growth in agri-food exports, modernization of domestic food supply chains, pharmaceutical distribution expansion, and increasing penetration of organized retail and foodservice formats. Growth momentum is further strengthened by rising regulatory emphasis on food safety and temperature integrity, export compliance requirements, and gradual infrastructure improvements across ports, logistics parks, and industrial zones. As supply chains transition from fragmented, informal handling toward structured and temperature-controlled logistics, cold chain services will become a critical enabler of both export competitiveness and domestic consumption reliability.

Transition Toward Large-Scale, Multi-Temperature, and Compliance-Ready Cold Storage Facilities: The future of Vietnam’s cold chain market will see a gradual shift away from small, single-temperature facilities toward larger, multi-user, and multi-temperature cold storage assets. Demand is increasing for facilities capable of handling frozen, chilled, and controlled ambient products within the same site, supported by modern racking systems, automation, and digital temperature monitoring. Export-oriented food processors, multinational retailers, and pharmaceutical companies increasingly prefer facilities that meet international audit standards and offer consistent service quality. Operators that invest in scalable, compliance-ready infrastructure will capture higher-value demand and improve long-term utilization stability.

Rising Importance of Integrated Cold Chain Solutions Across Storage, Transport, and Last-Mile Delivery: Through 2035, growth will increasingly favor cold chain providers that can offer integrated solutions spanning cold storage, refrigerated transportation, and last-mile distribution. Exporters and organized retailers seek to reduce temperature breaks and coordination complexity by working with fewer, more capable partners. This trend supports the emergence of end-to-end cold logistics platforms with centralized planning, fleet integration, and digital visibility across the supply chain. Providers that can combine storage proximity to ports and production hubs with reliable line-haul and urban delivery capabilities will strengthen customer stickiness and pricing power.

Expansion of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Cold Chain as a High-Value Growth Segment: Vietnam’s pharmaceutical manufacturing, vaccine distribution, and healthcare import ecosystem is expected to expand steadily, driving demand for GDP-compliant cold chain infrastructure. This segment requires higher operational discipline, validated processes, and real-time monitoring, resulting in higher margins but also higher entry barriers. Cold chain operators that invest early in pharma-grade facilities, documentation systems, and audit readiness will be well positioned to serve multinational pharmaceutical companies and public health programs over the forecast period.

Increased Focus on Energy Efficiency, Automation, and Operating Cost Optimization: Energy consumption remains a critical cost driver in cold chain operations. Over the next decade, operators are expected to invest more heavily in energy-efficient refrigeration systems, improved insulation, solar integration, and automation to reduce operating costs and improve reliability. Facilities designed with optimized airflow, higher ceiling utilization, and smart temperature controls will gain a competitive advantage, particularly as electricity costs rise and sustainability considerations influence customer procurement decisions.

Vietnam Cold Chain Market Segmentation

By Storage Type
• Cold Storage Warehouses (Frozen & Chilled)
• Refrigerated Transportation (Line-haul & Intercity)
• Last-Mile & Urban Cold Distribution
• Value-Added Cold Services (Blast Freezing, Ripening, Packaging)

By Temperature Range
• Frozen (-18°C and below)
• Chilled (0°C to 8°C)
• Controlled Ambient / Specialized Temperature

By End-Use Industry
• Food & Seafood Processing and Exports
• Agriculture (Fruits, Vegetables, Meat)
• Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare
• Retail, Foodservice & Others

By Service Type
• Storage-Only Services
• Transportation-Only Services
• Integrated Storage + Transportation
• End-to-End Cold Chain Solutions

By Region
• Southern Vietnam
• Northern Vietnam
• Central Vietnam

Players Mentioned in the Report:

• ABA Cooltrans
• Lineage Logistics (Vietnam operations)
• Emergent Cold / Preferred Freezer Services (regional presence)
• Transimex Cold Storage
• Satra Cold Storage
• Minh Phu Cold Storage (Integrated player)
• DHL Supply Chain (Temperature-Controlled Logistics)
• Konoike Transport (Cold Chain)
• Regional cold storage operators and seafood processor–owned facilities

Key Target Audience

• Cold storage developers and cold chain logistics providers
• Food, seafood, and agri-exporters
• Pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare distributors
• Organized retail chains and foodservice operators
• Third-party logistics (3PL) companies
• Industrial Park and logistics park developers
• Infrastructure investors and private equity firms
• Government agencies and trade promotion bodies

Time Period:

Historical Period: 2019–2024
Base Year: 2025
Forecast Period: 2025–2035