The "FRIDGE Act of 2025" aims to bolster U.S. agricultural exports by improving refrigeration infrastructure in developing countries, reducing food loss, and expanding market access for American farmers.
Jim Banks
Senator
IN
The "FRIDGE Act of 2025" aims to bolster the export of U.S. agricultural products by improving infrastructure in developing foreign markets. It enables the Secretary to collaborate with trade organizations to prevent damage or loss to U.S. agricultural commodities due to inadequate infrastructure. The act allocates $1,000,000 annually from 2026 to 2030 for these infrastructure improvements, with unused funds available for the general program. This initiative seeks to strengthen global supply chains, reduce food waste, and expand market access for American farmers.
FRIDGE Act Proposes $1M Annually to Upgrade Foreign Cold Chains for U.S. Farm Exports
This bill, the FRIDGE Act of 2025, aims to tackle a specific bottleneck holding back American food exports: inadequate refrigeration and storage in developing countries. It amends the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978, authorizing the Secretary of Agriculture to spend $1 million per year from fiscal year 2026 through 2030. The goal is to fund projects, carried out by contracted trade organizations, that improve infrastructure in foreign markets to prevent U.S. agricultural goods from spoiling before they reach consumers.
Keeping Exports from Spoiling
The core idea here is pretty straightforward. Billions of tons of food go to waste globally each year, often because developing markets lack reliable 'cold chains' – the system of refrigerated transport, storage, and distribution needed to keep perishable goods fresh. The FRIDGE Act wants to use taxpayer dollars to help build up these systems abroad, specifically to benefit U.S. commodity exports. Section 3 of the bill empowers the Secretary to partner with trade groups to get this done, focusing on preventing damage or loss to American farm products in new and developing markets.
A Million-Dollar Question Mark
While the goal is clear, the funding level raises questions. The bill authorizes $1 million annually for five years. Building significant infrastructure like large-scale cold storage facilities or refrigerated transport networks typically costs far more. This suggests the funding might be intended for smaller projects, technical assistance, or pilot programs rather than transformative infrastructure builds.
There's also a noteworthy detail in Section 3: any funds not used specifically for these infrastructure improvements can be redirected to the 'general program' under the existing Agricultural Trade Act subsection. The bill doesn't detail what this 'general program' entails, leaving some ambiguity about whether the funds will remain sharply focused on the cold chain problem or could be used for broader trade promotion activities.
Who Benefits and What's the Catch?
If successful, the primary beneficiaries would likely be U.S. agricultural exporters, particularly those dealing in perishable goods like fruits, vegetables, meat, and dairy, who could see new or expanded markets open up. Trade organizations tasked with carrying out the projects would also benefit.
However, the $1 million annual price tag comes from taxpayers. There's also the potential impact on local farmers in the target countries, who might face increased competition from U.S. imports facilitated by the improved infrastructure. Smaller U.S. farms not engaged in exporting are unlikely to see direct benefits. The effectiveness hinges on whether $1 million a year is enough to make a real difference in complex international supply chains and how strictly the funds are dedicated to the infrastructure task.