Ugandan firm uses blockchain to trace coffee from farm to store
CEO says consumers are willing to pay more if they can trace the beans’ journey by using their smartphones
Kampala — A Ugandan company has started using blockchain, the technology behind virtual currency bitcoin, to certify shipments of coffee to try to meet growing demand from consumers for more information about where products have come from. Carico Café Connoisseur said the move could help to boost farmers’ incomes, as consumers are usually prepared to pay more for goods that can been traced back to their origins. Blockchain works by providing a shared record of data held by a network of individual computers rather than a single party. Its supporters say this makes it hard to tamper with, and so is a secure way to track goods along the supply chain Carico Café Connoisseur CEO Mwambu Wanendeya said a blockchain-certified shipment of one of its coffee products, Bugisu Blue, arrived in SA in December.He declined to give the size of the shipment, but said it was several tons. Uganda is Africa’s largest coffee exporter followed by Ethiopia, according to the International Coffee Organisatio...
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