Commodities Firms Complete Blockchain Pilot for Black Sea Wheat

Swiss-based Transoil International and Solaris Commodities have conducted a blockchain pilot transaction of Black Sea wheat, S&P Global reports Nov. 12. Both companies are involved in the trading of international agricultural commodities like milling wheat, vegetable oil and flour.

The two firms completed the pilot using the blockchain-based agri-commodities trading and financing platform of Swiss startup Cerealia.

Transoil and Solaris completed a sale for a 25,000 metric ton shipment of 11.5 percent protein Black Sea wheat on a FOB-loading port basis from the Russian port city of Novorossiysk. This is reportedly the first blockchain-based trade deal of Black Sea wheat, while the exact monetary terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

By deploying a blockchain-powered platform, the parties seek to minimize risks and conflicts that may arise as the technology purportedly improves dispute settlements and monitoring the various stages of a transaction. S&P Global quotes Cerealia:

"An independent auditor has reviewed all the important details of the trade from the blockchain and validated the smart contract, digital signatures, signed document and timestamps. [The auditor] also confirmed that data has been encrypted, that no other data has been stored and that all data is up to date."

The agricultural and food products sector has been gradually embracing blockchain around the world. As Cointelegraph previously reported, the world’s four largest agriculture companies, commonly known as ABCD, partnered to digitize international grain trading by using blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Blockchain and AI will be initially used to automate grain and oilseed post-trade execution processes, which are a highly manual and costly part of the supply chain.

In September, a U.S. national milk marketing cooperative — Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) — teamed up with food fintech startup ripe.io to pilot a blockchain-powered project also aimed at improving the food supply chain. DFA reportedly intends to assess the technology and explore how the organization can benefit from its use.

Also in September, Albert Heijn, Holland’s largest supermarket chain, revealed it is using blockchain to make the production chain of its orange juice more transparent. The system will reportedly store data that reveals the quality and sustainability ratings held by various produce growers, as well as information about the fruits themselves.