BRAZIL – Bunge Ltd. has announced a groundbreaking partnership by signing a memorandum of understanding with Bangkok Produce Merchandising Public Company (BKP) Limited.
This collaborative effort aims to develop an innovative blockchain solution for ensuring the traceability of soy and deforestation-free products in the grains sourced by Bunge in Brazil, ultimately destined for various Asian countries.
In this joint endeavor with BKP, a subsidiary of Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (CPF), both organizations will conduct comprehensive technical, commercial, and operational feasibility studies to create a sustainable supply chain while integrating advanced digitization solutions.
The primary objective of this agreement is to revolutionize the traceability of soy and related products, from their origins in the field to their final consumers in Asia, where BKP and CPF are actively involved in the production and sale of feed and food.
At present, Bunge, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, manages monitoring operations across more than 16,000 farms, covering a vast expanse of up to 20 million hectares in South America.
Utilizing cutting-edge satellite technology, Bunge can identify changes in land use, as well as soybean planting on each monitored property.
In Brazil, Bunge is committed to monitoring its entire direct supply chain in regions susceptible to deforestation and aims to extend this coverage to the indirect supply chain by 2025. A remarkable achievement, over 97% of the soy volume procured by Bunge is verified as free from deforestation and conversion, a significant step toward the company’s deforestation-free value chain goals.
Rossano de Angelis Jr., Vice President of Agribusiness for South America at Bunge, emphasized the company’s dedication to becoming the preferred sustainable solutions partner for producers and customers.
“The partnership with BKP reflects our business vision that leverages technology as an important tool. Over the past few years, we have built a robust social and environmental verification system that includes advanced traceability and monitoring of our suppliers. We believe that, together with our customers, we will build sustainable supply chains with an additional layer of reliability guaranteed by blockchain,” he stated.
As two global giants join forces, the scale of this initiative has the potential to elevate transparency standards in the Brazilian soy value chain while boosting consumer confidence in soy-derived products worldwide.
Through the memorandum of understanding, both Bunge and BKP commit to exploring opportunities for further collaboration, including systems integration with a focus on real-time data transfer, carbon footprint measurement for traded volumes with BKP, and enhancement of the digital traceability solution to align with sustainability certification standards such as the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS) and the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC).
Paisarn Kruawongvanich, Chief Executive Officer of BKP, emphasized the significance of blockchain technology in enhancing traceability in the agro-industry and food supply chains. This technological advancement ensures transparency and upholds product quality and safety for consumers.
Furthermore, Kruawongvanich stated that this agreement with global business partners aligns with BKP’s commitment to achieving a net-zero supply chain by 2050.
“Tracing raw materials around the globe, including soy, back to the source is key to ensuring both directly and indirectly sourced raw materials do not come from encroachment areas or areas of deforestation,” Kruawongvanich concluded.
