A cross-continent trade transaction of wheat from North America to Southeast Asia was completed within a few days by global agricultural supply chain partners using a blockchain platform, World Grain reported on 15 April.
Cargill, Agrocorp, Rabobank and other logistics partners used the blockchain provided by Singapore-based dltledgers to settle a US$12M shipment agreement on 1 April.
Partners included Cargill, Rabobank North America, Rabobank Singapore, ship owner Amarante, shipping agent Transmarine, and agri-commodity trader Agrocorp International. The dltledgers blockchain solution is built on the open-source Hyperledger Fabric platform.
The partnership saw the completed transaction as a way of helping the global agricultural supply chain deliver food to where needed, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking about the transaction, Jennifer Davidson, trade execution lead of Cargill, said: “We are constantly seeking ways to work with our partners to help make food and agricultural 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 trading, digitalising the document and trade execution process. The trade took a total of just five days to settle compared to traditional trading processes which can take up to a month.
Cross-border commodity trading was one of the most promising sectors for blockchain, according to dltledgers, as it allowed for real-time monitoring by multiple parties, dispensed with concerns about data ownership, and simplified the exchange of documents in a digital, secure and decentralised manner.
Abhinav Vijay, sustainability manager of Agrocorp International, said: “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.”
