Food & Beverage Asia June/July 2020

NEWS 13
Global agriculture supply chain partners make cross-continent commodity
trade transaction via blockchain
Cargill and Agrocorp, in partnership with
Rabobank and other logistics partners, have
completed a cross-continent commodity
trade transaction of wheat from North
America to South East Asia on a blockchain
platform provided by Singapore-based
dltledgers. In the wake of the COVID-19
pandemic, the transaction demonstrated
the importance of partnerships to help
ensure the global agriculture supply chain
delivers food to where it is needed in a time
of uncertainty.
The shipment, valued at US$12 million and
settled on 1 Apr 2020 from North America
to Indonesia, occurred with six trading
partners participating on a common
blockchain platform. Both the platform
and the transaction represent a “big win”
for both the blockchain and commodity
trading industries.
Partners included Cargill, Rabobank North
America, Rabobank Singapore, ship owner
Amarante, shipping agent Transmarine,
and agri-commodity trader Agrocorp.
The dltledgers blockchain solution is built
on the open-source Hyperledger Fabric
platform.
Jennifer Davidson, Trade Execution Lead
for Cargill, said, “We are constantly seeking
ways to work with our partners to help
make food and agriculture supply chains
more inclusive and respond to demands.
We see this transaction as the latest
example of how working together and
using technology to solve challenges can
improve trade, as well as traceability, food
safety, nutrition and more.”
The blockchain platform provides a
repeatable framework for end-to-end
digital trade executions, digitalising the
document and trade execution process. In
a statement, the companies revealed that
the trade took a total of just five days to
settle, whereas traditional trading process
can take up to a month. The platform
created a shared, immutable record of
the transaction – a single source of truth
for all parties.
Abhinav Vijay, Sustainability Manager,
Agrocorp, added, “We have been engaging
in the digital trade execution using
blockchain for over 18 months now, and
have been able to increase efficiency
internally and externally. In addition,
it is great to partner with Cargill to
drive the commodities industry forward.
Considering the current world climate and
the logistical challenges to move physical
documents around the globe, this is just a
start, and we hope to execute more trades
via the platform in the near future.” ■
Cargill, Agrocorp, Rabobank work together via blockchain
solution to ensure intercontinental agricultural trade takes place
in five days in wake of COVID-19 pandemic
Nestlé expands blockchain to Zoégas coffee brand
Nestlé has launched select editions of
Zoégas whole beans and roast ground
coffee in Sweden. This Summer 2020
range is a 100% Rainforest Alliance
certified blend of arabica coffee beans
from three origins – Brazil, Rwanda and
Colombia. Through blockchain-recorded
data, coffee lovers will now be able to trace
their coffee back to the different origins.
Nestlé has expanded the use of IBM Food Trust blockchain
technology platform to its Zoégas coffee brand
Nestlé partnered The Rainforest Alliance
to independently provide data beyond
what is usually disclosed by the company.
The Rainforest Alliance provide their own
certification information, ensuring the
traceability of the coffee. This information
is directly accessible to everyone with the
IBM Food Trust blockchain platform.
By scanning the QR code on the packaging,
consumers can follow the coffee journey
from the growing locations to the Zoégas
factory in Helsingborg where the beans are
roasted, grounded and packed. The data
includes information about farmers, time of
harvest, transaction certificate for the specific
shipments, as well as roasting period.
Nestlé started using blockchain in 2017
when it joined the IBM Food Trust as a
founding member. Over the past three
years, Nestlé has scaled up and diversified
the use of blockchain platforms to bring
its transparency and sustainability efforts
to life for consumers. It started giving
consumers access to blockchain with
IBM on products such as Mousline purée
and Guigoz infant formula in France.
Together with OpenSC, Nestlé is also
piloting open blockchain to monitor and
openly communicate data related to the
sustainability of milk and palm oil. ■
To find out more on IBM's innovation in
blockchain technology, flip to page 14.
FOOD & BEVERAGE ASIA JUNE / JULY 2020