Blockchain in the Fruit Supply Chain

The Fruit sector has been driving agriculture growth tremendously. It plays an important role in Indian economy by generating employment in a labor-intensive value chain. The Indian climatic and geographical conditions also render it suitable for growing all types of fruits. 

Fresh Fruit supply chains are undergoing a massive transformation globally. The trends are leaning towards quality rather than volumes. The major drivers are stringent regulatory requirements and competitive strategy, triggered by the demands of food safety and transparency by the end consumer. 

Fresh Fruit Sector 

Fresh fruits are a part of a well balanced and nutritious diet. With the rising awareness of healthy food consumption, consumers are making dietary shifts towards fresh fruit 

Challenges in the Fruit Supply chain market 

With the increase in global food scandals leading to health insecurity, consumers are driving a totally different revolution towards food purchase. There has been a demand for transparency, traceability and diligence throughout the fruit supply chain from the consumers. The supermarkets are responding to the consumer’s demands by changing the way traditional systems work to adhere to the quality and food safety requirements. Consumers also expect seasonal fresh fruits to be available all the year around with consistency in their quality. 

Supply chain plays a vital role in this sector and it becomes all the more important on account of its perishable nature and short shelf life. The efficient production and supply from the farm level to the end consumers is critical in the fruit supply chain. 

• Fragmented supply chain 
• Lack of knowledge on crop agronomy among farmers 
• Climatic impact affecting yields 
• Pests and contamination issues 
• Inconsistent deliveries and shortage of fertilizers and pesticides affects yields 
• Due to its perishable nature, logistics disruptions cause a lot of losses 
• Dependency on intermediaries 
• Market fluctuations 
• Higher input and transportation costs 
• Lack of cold chain infrastructure 
• Supply chain losses mostly in post-harvest 
• Safety and Quality issues 

Technology Solutions for the Fruit Supply Chain 

Blockchain technology has revolutionized the fruit supply chain. The end-to-end traceability solutions built on the blockchain platform brings trust, transparency and visibility in the fruit supply chains. The data capture at all stages of the supply chain in real-time helps in reducing food losses and in recall management.

It also provides the end consumer a farm to fork story of the product, thereby proving the authenticity of the produce. Blockchain provides a connected platform across all the stakeholders in the supply chain and builds trust and transparency among them. Blockchain transactions are immutable and decentralized, providing a single source of truth. 

A large variety of fruits are grown in India that include apple, banana, grapes, mango, pomegranate, papaya and citrus fruits. 

Traversing the fruit value chains with blockchain solutions 

Apple

Apple is a fruit grown and consumed globally all through the year. A highly nutritive fruit enriched with vitamins and minerals, apples provide a wholesome diet, keeping doctors away. 

¹The global production of fresh apples is projected to register a CAGR of 4 % during the period 2022-27. Due to increase in health awareness, rise in contract farming and development of hybrid varieties, apples are seeing a global market. The fresh apple market is segmented by geography around North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. The demand for organic apples are gaining traction. 

Challenges 

• Apples need to be harvested at an optimal time and a safe temperature to realize quality and effective yield. 
• Food safety is of utmost importance to the consumer with the requirement of necessary pesticidal and chemical treatments. 
• Harvesting, handling and packing practices are crucial to maintain the quality of the fruit and avoid losses 
• Post-harvest is the most vulnerable stage that incurs wastage and hence losses. 
• Quality inputs like seeds and fertilizers and realizing a fair price in the market are important to the farmer. 

Blockchain Solutions 

• Farm and Crop management solutions help in tracking package of practices for crops to achieve greater quality yields 
• The post -harvest and inventory management streamlines processes to increase operational efficiency and reduce losses 
• End to End traceability with a QR code tag on the apple crates showcase a transparent and trustworthy story to the end consumer 
• The aggregation and collaboration of all the stakeholders on common platform builds trust and transparency, assuring a fair price to the producers. 
• The real-time capture of data enables easy tracking and tracing aiding recall management.

Banana 

Bananas are the fourth most important food crop in the world and a widely consumed fruit. Bananas are considered a rich source of vitamins and fibers contributing to proper metabolism and aiding in digestion. 

²The global banana market is projected to register a CAGR of 4.5%v during the period 2022-27. Bananas are the most globally exported fruit and are a means of livelihood for millions. The easily available and a cheap fruit with its nutritional benefits has triggered the growth of this market. The global banana market is segmented by geography across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America and Africa. 

Challenges 

• A complicated supply chain requiring collaboration of a number of participants 

• The harvesting, ripening, storage and transportation are resource intensive 
• Post-harvest losses due to inappropriate ripening techniques and handling. 
• The banana production needs to conform to the Rainforest Alliance Certification standards 
• Regulatory requirements for export in terms of fruit provenance and transparency of supply chain. 

Blockchain Solutions 

• Collaborative and multi stakeholder platform to share real-time data 
• Tracking of preharvest stages for quality and effective yield 
• Post-harvest management to track the critical stages to avoid losses and increase productivity 
• First mile traceability to prove the origin and authenticate the growing conditions to comply with sustainability standards 
• Digital identity with a farm to fork story showcasing transparency and accountability to meet regulatory compliance. 

Grapes 

Grapes are one of the largest fruit crops grown and consumed worldwide. They are consumed freshly or processed into wines, jams and juices. The wine market is a valued and demanding market that makes grape production critical.  

³The grapes market is projected to register a CAGR of 7.1% during the period 2022-27. The demand is great in Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Russia. The increase in demand from consumers has resulted in greater grape production. The global grape market is segmented by geography across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America and Africa.

Challenges 

• The input supply market is vulnerable to quality risks and are costly 
• Lack of crop agronomy and labor-intensive production 
• A large number of stakeholders making the supply chain complex 
• MRL levels need to be under check for contamination free produce 
• Adherence to quality standards  

Blockchain Solutions 

• Tracking and validation of input sources 
• Farm and crop management to increase productivity  
• Shared, transparent and collaborative platform 
• Tracking of package of practices for validating sustainable practices 
• End to end traceability with a QR code story to showcase quality and transparency. 

Mango 

Commonly referred to as the ‘King of Fruits’ , mangoes are consumed worldwide as a seasonal fruit that has a high nutrient content. The attractive prices have increased consumption and most of the fruits are imported from developing countries. 

⁴The processed mango market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.5% in the period 2022-27. Increase in consumption of processed and secondary products which are both nutritive and popular are driving the mango markets. Asia Pacific has the largest share in the market. North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa are the other geographical segments in the mango sector. 

Challenges 

• Availability of quality inputs for production 
• Lack of aggregation and farmers do not get a fair price. 
• Post-harvest processes during harvesting, packaging, storage and grading are vulnerable leading to losses 
• Ripening of mango with calcium carbide poses a health hazard. 
• Lack of Cold storage and transport infrastructure 

Blockchain Solutions 

• Farm and Crop management with tracking and validation of quality inputs 
• Tracking of Package practice deviations to ensure a healthy produce 
• Post-harvest and inventory management to ensure higher operational efficiency with reduced losses 
• Collaborative transparent platform empowering the stakeholders a fair share 
• End to end traceability showcasing the product story from farm to fork to build consumer trust

Pomegranate 

Pomegranate is referred to as a ‘Super Food’ owing to its nutritional value. There is a demand globally especially with the increase in use of pomegranate products like powder and juices. Pomegranate is a fruit rich in antioxidants and vitamin C which have a number of medicinal benefits. 

⁵The global pomegranate market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.3% during the period 2022-28. The global pomegranate market is segmented by geography across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America and Africa. The rising awareness of the health benefits of this fruit has triggered the pomegranate market. Asia Pacific holds a major share in the market and its use in healthcare has propelled its growth.

Challenges 

• The supply chain has a number of participants with no collaboration 
• Quality of production due to lack of knowledge on best practices 
• Post-harvest losses due to improper handling and transportation 
• Insufficient adherence to quality standards for exports 
• Lack of cold storage and transport facilities 

Blockchain Solutions 

• Farm and Crop management for quality yields 
• Collaborative shared platform for transparency and visibility in markets 
• Post-harvest management streamlined for increased operational efficiency 
• QR code story to recreate the product traceability from farm to fork. 
• Digital immutable records showcasing authentic information to comply to regulatory standards. 

Fruits provide the most vital nutrients but are susceptible to major food contamination resulting in health hazards. Implementing blockchain in the fruit supply chain resolves issues due to food safety and quality.

Check about Food safety in the fruit and vegetable supply chain. 

The blockchain provides a trusted and connected ecosystem among the participants in the supply chain. The capture and recording of data in real-time all through the stages from production to consumption builds a trustworthy and transparent system ensuring accountability and authenticity of the produce. Blockchain empowers both the farmers and producers in the ecosystem by driving economic growth in farmers and brand engagement in consumers. 

TraceX’s blockchain powered traceability solutions provides end to end traceability along with Farm and Crop management to get quality yields, assuring enhanced productivity and profitability.

Check out the Farm Management Solutions from TraceX to build a robust fruit supply chain. 

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