Climate Change, Consumer Demand and Sustainability Transitions in Horticultural Value Chains
Aishwarya S. Akhare *
Agricultural Economics, Government College of Agriculture, Muktainagar, Dist. Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Horticultural value chains occupy a distinctive position in sustainability transitions because fruits and vegetables are nutritionally important, commercially valuable, highly perishable and unusually sensitive to climate, quality and market signals. This critical narrative review examines how climate change, consumer demand and value-chain governance interact to shape sustainability transitions in fresh and minimally processed edible horticulture. Literature published from 1 January 2000 to 4 July 2026 was considered, with earlier foundational work eligible where necessary. Evidence was integrated across horticultural science, life-cycle assessment, food-supply-chain research, consumer behaviour, agricultural economics and sustainability-transition scholarship. The synthesis shows that climate risk is transmitted beyond farm yield through phenology, visual quality, nutritional attributes, shelf life, cooling requirements, transport reliability and price volatility. Consumer demand can reward attributes such as locality, organic production, environmental labels and social responsibility, yet stated preferences frequently compete with freshness, taste, price and convenience, while aesthetic standards can themselves increase avoidable loss. Consequently, neither local sourcing nor consumer-led ecolabelling is intrinsically sustainable. Environmental performance depends on production system, season, energy source, water scarcity, transport mode, refrigeration, packaging and waste, and interventions can shift burdens between these dimensions. A transition perspective therefore reframes horticultural sustainability from the adoption of isolated practices to coordinated reconfiguration of production, procurement, logistics, retail standards, information systems and consumer practices. The strongest evidence supports integrated strategies that combine climate adaptation with life-cycle performance, loss prevention and credible governance. Major uncertainties concern the real-world behavioural effects of sustainability information, the distribution of transition costs across growers and workers, climate-resilient sourcing portfolios, and comparable metrics that connect environmental footprints with nutrition, resilience and equity. Future research should prioritise longitudinal, multi-actor studies and field experiments that measure actual outcomes across complete value chains rather than isolated intentions or farm-level efficiencies.
Keywords: Horticulture, fresh produce, climate adaptation, sustainable consumption, food supply chains, ecolabelling, food loss and waste, sustainability transitions