A leading agribusiness and food company, along with Bangkok Produce Merchandising Public Company Limited (BKP), a subsidiary of Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (CPF or CP Foods), have collaborated to pilot a traceability platform utilizing blockchain technology for sustainable soy. The initiative involves the shipment of three consignments totaling 185,000 metric tons of deforestation-free soybean meal from Brazil to Thailand, enabling CP Foods to track the soybeans from their source farms through processing, transportation, and delivery. An additional three shipments, carrying 180,000 metric tons of soybean meal, are slated for dispatch by July 2024. These products adhere to Bunge’s and BKP’s socio-environmental supplier verification protocols and originate from regions with zero deforestation since 2020, aligning with CP Foods’ sourcing standards. The platform also provides customers with access to information such as the carbon footprint of the sold volumes and whether the farms employ regenerative agricultural practices.
Paisarn Kruawongvanich, CEO of Bangkok Produce Merchandising, highlights the company’s commitment to fostering transparency across its supply chain through blockchain-based traceability solutions, aiming to achieve 100% deforestation-free supply chains by 2025.
Rossano de Angelis Jr., Bunge’s Vice President of Agribusiness in South America, emphasizes that integrating blockchain technology enhances transparency in end-to-end traceability, complementing Bunge’s existing supplier verification and monitoring systems. The collaboration between Bunge and CP Foods, initiated in October 2023, focuses on developing a sustainable and digitally integrated supply chain, particularly for oilseeds and their by-products sourced in Brazil for distribution in Asian markets.
The ongoing tests seek to automate the linkage between Bunge and BKP’s supplier management and socio-environmental monitoring systems through a digital platform, with blockchain ensuring data immutability. Mohit Purbey, Bunge’s Distribution Director in Asia, underscores the importance of the longstanding relationship with CP Foods in driving the project and demonstrates Bunge’s commitment to tailoring solutions to support customer sustainability goals.
Since late 2022, Bunge’s supplier monitoring system has covered over 16,000 farms across 20 million hectares in South America, utilizing satellite technology to detect changes in land use and soybean cultivation. In Brazil, Bunge monitors all direct suppliers in deforestation-risk areas and aims to extend coverage to indirect suppliers by 2025. Over 97% of the soy volume sourced by Bunge in Brazil is deforestation and conversion-free, bringing the company closer to its 2025 goal of deforestation-free supply chains.
