THE new reefer warehouse built by North America's largest refrigerating warehousing service provider, Preferred Freezer Services (PFS), is up and running at the Tianjin Port Container Logistics Centre.

The warehouse, costing CNY290 million (US$47.9 million), is the largest single refrigerated warehouse in northern China.

Tianjin is PFS' first step of expansion into northern China. The PFS Tianjin cold chain project covers 40,000 square metres, which includes a 20,000-square metre warehouse whose lowest temperature can reach -44 Celsius degrees.

The facility also offers distribution, processing, customs brokerage and freight forwarding services. It adapted advanced design and automatic control system and enjoys outstanding safety and environmental friendliness.

The facility stores beef, mutton, sea food, juice, dairy products and food additives mainly from US, Canada, France and New Zealand.

Tianjin imported about 800,000 tonnes of frozen meat in 2013. And the volume is still rising at a fast rate of 20 per cent per year. The facility is expected to handle 20,000 to 30,000 tonnes a month. Its full-year throughput is estimated to top 300,000 tonnes with trade value of up to CNY2.5 billion.