Trends and Prospects for the Development of the Cold Logistics Market in Ukraine

Background. The "cold" supply chain is a continuously functioning system that provides the optimum temperature for storing and transporting goods from the manufacturer to the end user, with all safety and quality requirements within the established standard shelf life. Problems in the "cold" supply chains are associated with the high cost of technical support and temperature control system; the absence in the legislation of requirements and regulatory documentation for the transport and storage of goods in the cold supply chain, the absence of providers of specialized services, weakly developed transport infrastructure which makes us bear large transportation costs, and multistage distribution scheme. For the "cold" supply chain, the critical success factors are: a mechanism that controls compliance with all the necessary temperature conditions at each stage of storage and transportation of the goods and refrigeration equipment designed to store and transport goods under optimal temperature conditions. The purpose of the study. The purpose of the article is to analyze the current state and the characteristic trends in the development of cold logistics, identify problems, significantly inhibit the development of the industry, and identify ways to solve them. Methodology. Analysis of existing data covering the available information on the characteristics of the cold logistics market. The following source documents were taken into account: reports prepared by research bodies and real estate agencies, materials, and trade information published by property owners, professional press and opinion of market analysts. In addition, the analysis of key success factors in the definition of the functioning of the cold logistics market was used as a tool for strategic analysis. Results. Based on the studies carried out in the field of cold logistics, the main indicators that stimulate the development of this area are presented. The most important indicators were identified and evaluated. Practical implications. The obtained results can be used by local authorities in the territorial development and in support of economic decisions, as well as by investors interested in the construction of cold warehouses and their leasing. Variability in time of the presented values and their dependence on various factors show the purposefulness of further research in this area. Value / originality. The market of cold logistics in Ukraine develops in accordance with world trends, significantly affects the economic potential of the country, stimulates the development of interrelated and complementary areas and is a reflection of our competitiveness. Despite the positive dynamics, the rate of development of the cold logistics market in Ukraine is lower in comparison with the global pace of development of this industry, which leads to a backlog of global processes, underutilization of potential, loss of competitive positions. This stimulates the research of the peculiarities of the domestic market of consumers of cold logistics services, the main trends and prospects.