13/05/2026
๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ด๐ฎ๐ป๐ด ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐๐๐น๐น ๐ข๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ญ๐ฏโ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฒ: The blast freeze facility at Dargaygang under Phuentsholing Gewog, established with financial support from the United Nations Development Programme Joint JSB for the construction of the structure, and with power line connectivity support from the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB), officially commenced full-scale operation yesterday.
The facility marked its first successful consignment with 1.5 metric tonnes of pork sourced from farmers of Logchina Gewog. The centre is currently being operated by an individual farmer through collaborative support from poultry and piggery farmer groups of Logchina and Phuentsholing Gewogs. To ensure sustainability of the facility, farmers availing the service are charged a nominal fee to cover operational expenses such as electricity and other essential maintenance costs.
The blast freezing process generally takes about 8โ9 hours for meat products to be fully frozen before being transferred to cold storage facilities. Once properly stored, the meat can remain preserved for up to 7โ8 months, providing farmers with an important buffer during periods of unstable market demand and fluctuating prices.
At present, the dedicated cold storage facility at Dargaygang is still under construction. Once completed, it is expected to significantly enhance the efficiency, convenience, and long-term storage capacity for livestock products from farmers of the two gewogs. Meanwhile, the current consignment is being stored at the existing cold storage facility in Phuentsholing town.
With the establishment of this centre, the Dzongkhag now has two operational blast freeze facilities. The first facility, located at Gurungdara in Sampheling Gewog, was established in 2017 and is being managed by a group of broiler farmers.
The new facility is expected to strengthen livestock value chains in the region, reduce post-harvest losses, enhance food safety standards, and create better market opportunities for local farmers by enabling them to preserve meat products for longer durations and sell them when market conditions are more favorable.
Chhukha Livestock Page - Chhukha DzongkhagDepartment of Livestock, Royal Government of Bhutan
Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Royal Government of Bhutan