Global agribusiness giant Bunge has formed a partnership with Bangkok Produce Merchandising Public Company (BKP) to develop a soyabean traceability blockchain.
Bunge said the agreement with BKP – a subsidiary of Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (CPF) – involved grain it sourced in Brazil for export to several countries in Asia, where BKP and CPF produce and sell feed and food.
The partnership would enable both companies to conduct technical, commercial and operational feasibility studies to build a sustainable supply chain and integrate digitisation, Bunge said on 30 October.
BKP CEO Paisarn Kruawongvanich said blockchain technology would improve traceability in the sector and the company’s food supply chain, providing transparency and ensuring product quality and safety for customers.
“Tracing raw materials around the globe, including soy[abeans], back to the source is key to ensuring both directly and indirectly sourced raw material do not come from encroachment areas or areas of deforestation,” Kruawongvanich added.
Using satellite technology, Bunge currently monitors changes in land use and soyabean planting on more than 16,000 farms – up to 20M ha – in South America.
In Brazil, Bunge said it monitored its entire direct supply chain in areas subject to deforestation and was moving towards fully covering the indirect supply chain by 2025.
The company said its aim was to achieve a deforestation-free value chain and to date more than 97% of its soyabean purchases was verified free from deforestation and conversion.
As part of the agreement, both companies also committed to exploring the possibility of collaboration on other services, such as further integrating systems, with a focus on enabling real-time data transfer, measuring the carbon footprint of volumes traded with BKP, and making the blockchain compatible with sustainability certification standards, such as the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS), and the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC).
