How to Store Taro for 6 Months? (Cold Room Cost, Capacity & Export ROI)

Taro (Colocasia esculenta) is a high-demand root crop across Africa, Southeast Asia, and Pacific markets—but it’s highly perishable. At ambient temperatures, it loses moisture, sprouts, or rots within 3–4 weeks. Without cold storage, farmers are forced to sell at harvest-time lows.

But with proper refrigeration, you can store taro for up to 6 months, ship during off-season peaks, and command 2–3x higher prices.

So how much does it cost—and how much can you actually store?

📦 Storage Capacity: How Many Tons Fit in a Taro Cold Room?

💡 Ideal for export-grade corms from Nigeria, Ghana, Vietnam, or Papua New Guinea.

💰 Total Investment: What You Actually Pay

A turnkey taro cold room (200m², 7°C ±0.5°C, 85–90% RH) typically costs:

45,000– 55,000 USD

Key System Features:

• Temperature: Precise 7°C (critical—below 6°C causes chilling injury; above 9°C triggers rot)
• Humidity: 85–90% RH (prevents shriveling without promoting mold)
• Insulation: 100mm PU panels with smooth, washable interior
• Pre-cooling Zone: Forced-air tunnel (reduces field heat within 24 hrs)
• Monitoring: Cloud-based system with SMS alerts for temp/humidity drift

⚠️ Never store taro below 6°C—it causes internal browning, texture breakdown, and rapid decay.

🌍 Real-World Insight

A taro growers’ co-op in Eastern Nigeria built a 200m² cold room to serve local processors and export trials:

• Total Investment: $ 52,000 USD
• Capacity: 180 metric tons
• Result:
  • Reduced post-harvest loss from 30% → 6%
  • Sold 60% of stock 4–5 months post-harvest at 2.7x harvest price
  • Supplied frozen taro flour producers year-round
  • Achieved ROI in 13 months

“Before cold storage, we buried taro in pits and still lost half. Now, we store it like gold.”
— Chairperson, Imo State Taro Farmers Association