Fujitsu Partners Ricex To Bring Rice to the Blockchain

Leading Japanese multinational information and communication technology (ICT) company, Fujitsu, announced Tuesday, it has partnered with the Switzerland startup Rice Exchange (Ricex) for its blockchain-based rice trading platform. 

According to the report, Ricex via the platform plans to digitize rice trade, while also providing a transparent ecosystem for importers, exporters, regulators, stakeholders, wholesalers, as well as producers in the industry.

The CEO and Co-founder of Ricex, Stephen Edkins further explained that the platform tends to offer a more streamlined and convenient trading process through inspections and automated settlement to participants, providing insurance, and shipping information.

Interestingly, the platform which is scheduled to launch by next year allows buyers to search for rice certified as sustainably grown, while also offering rice provenance to enable the producers to earn a premium for their products.

Edkins added:

People are not just buying long-grain, white rice anymore; they want to have a choice of different rice. These sell for higher prices, but each time you buy one of these varieties, you want to know that you’ll get what you paid for. It comes back to having transparency in the supply chain.

The partnership today will see Fujitsu deliver a production-ready solution built on Hyperledger Fabric for the platform as an integration partner. Per the report, Fujitsu Blockchain Innovation Centre relies on Microsoft Azure for providing hosting services, which Ricex aims to leverage for its blockchain-based trading platform.

Ricex is one of the initiatives exploring a possible use case of blockchain for streamlining commodities trading. Notably, rice is one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world, with a global market value of $450 billion.

Undoubtedly, blockchain technology has become an essential tool to guarantee transparency and the incorruptibility of the data that support the supply chain of commodities globally.

In a similar development, Coinfomania reported on September 25th that the Sicilian Regional Assembly gained approval to use blockchain in agriculture for traceability of food products.