Cold-Chain Infrastructure Gaps and Post-Harvest Losses in Louisiana’s Crawfish Industry: Implications for Revenue Generation and Employment

Abstract

Louisiana remains the dominant producer of crawfish in the United States, supplying over 95 percent of national output from a combination of farmed systems and natural freshwater ecosystems. Although the crawfish sector has long served as a cornerstone of the state’s agricultural economy, persistent post-harvest inefficiencies continue to constrain its full economic potential. Among the most pressing but insufficiently addressed constraints is the weakness of cold-chain infrastructure, encompassing refrigerated storage, cold transport networks, and temperature-regulated handling and processing facilities. Due to the extreme perishability of crawfish, breakdowns in cold-chain management result in significant spoilage, declining product quality, unstable market prices, and limited access to high-value domestic and export markets. At a time when employment expansion and revenue diversification are critical development goals for Louisiana, this study investigates the role of cold-chain infrastructure deficiencies in driving post-harvest losses within the state’s crawfish industry. The research draws on survey data collected from 200 crawfish producers, processors, and distributors operating across major producing parishes in Louisiana. A binomial logistic regression framework is employed to evaluate the perceived influence of cold storage availability, refrigerated transportation, market distance, and government intervention on post-harvest loss outcomes. The empirical results indicate that limited access to cold storage facilities, inadequate refrigerated logistics, elevated energy costs, and insufficient public sector support significantly heighten the probability of post-harvest losses. The study concludes that strategic investments in cold-chain systems would substantially reduce product losses, improve price stability, generate new jobs in logistics and storage services, and enhance state tax revenues and export performance. Consequently, the study advocates for coordinated public–private partnerships, targeted subsidies for small and medium-scale operators, and comprehensive cold-chain development policies to strengthen the long-term competitiveness of Louisiana’s crawfish industry.

Keywords: Cold-chain infrastructure, Employment, Post-harvest losses, Revenue, Crawfish, Logistic regression, Employment, Revenue, Transport, Storage

DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/16-1-04

Publication date: February 28^th 2026