- Blockchain adoption steadily on a rise in India
- The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has launched a blockchain-enabled coffee tracking app
- The app will help producers in better price discovery of the commodity
The Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI) announced on March 28, 2019, that the Coffee Board of India has launched a blockchain-powered e-marketplace to keep a track of the supply chain process of coffee production.
Transparency from Bean to Cup
In a bid to make the supply chain management of coffee produce more transparent and traceable “from bean to cup,” the Coffee Board of India has launched a pilot e-marketplace for coffee producers. This blockchain-enabled e-marketplace will also help in reducing the number of intermediaries between coffee growers and consumers, which will, in turn, ensure that growers get a fair price for their produce.
The project was launched by Commerce Secretary Dr. Anup Wadhawan through video conference on March 28 in New Delhi. Jose DausterSette, Executive Director, International Coffee Organisation (ICO) from Nairobi, Kenya, and Rahul Chhabra, India’s High Commissioner to Kenya was also present during the project’s activation.
The proposed e-marketplace will reportedly be delivered in the form of an app which will enable coffee growers to transact directly with the buyers. To develop the app, the Coffee Board of India has collaborated with Eka Software, a firm with expertise in digital commodity solutions.
According to the media outlet Business Line, at present, the app is being piloted with a limited number of producers, roasters, exporters, and traders. The pilot is expected to go on for four to five months.
Srivatsa Krishna, Chairman, Coffee Board of India, said:
“If this pilot succeeds, we will cover all the growers,”
Adding,
“Growers will get the power to decide the price for their coffees.”
It’s worthy of note that India has close to 350,000 coffee growers who produce approximately 300,000 tonnes of coffee every year.
Bridging the Gap in Supply Chain
Supply chains of commodities usually suffer from opaqueness with regard to traceability and verifiability. The problem becomes all the more menacing in a country like India where supply chains have a large number of scions.
Thankfully, this might no longer be a problem for farmers producing coffee in India.
The newly launched app allows P2P trade of the coffee produce. This means that a farmer who wants to sell their produce can simply list their coffee and indicate the desired price in the marketplace. Buyers listed on the marketplace can then make bids. A trade can be executed if the producer finds a buyer’s bid price reasonable enough.
