Australian Food & Wine Supply Chain Combats Fraud with Blockchain Tech

Australian Government and supply chain industry experts are pushing blockchain technology as a solution to widespread fraud in the food and wine industry, which currently costs Aussie businesses over $1.7 billion every year.

New collaborative efforts between the Australian Government, blockchain roadmap working groups, and supply chain industry experts has seen government officials advocate for the use of blockchain in eliminating fraud within one of Australia’s most profitable produce and export sectors. 

An online panel discussion on September 4, moderated by Blockchain Australia deputy chair Rob Allen, saw over 150 industry and government attendees meet to discuss potential use cases of blockchain technology in order to combat widespread fraud throughout multiple industries. 

Blockchain technology holds the potential to establish an immutable provenance chain by tokenizing and tracking every Australian-made product. Provenance fraud is widespread both within Australia and throughout export markets, with Australian agricultural businesses struggling to ensure that their products can be verified internationally. 

Blockchains Set to Lock Down Supply Chains

Speaking at the online forum, Department of Industry National Blockchain Lead Chloe White highlighted the importance of blockchain technology in minimizing the $1.7 billion annual cost of agricultural product provenance fraud. 

AgTech Capital AL Fullerton reinforced White’s perspective on blockchain implementation from a private sector position, noting that blockchain can be used in product authentication in order to prevent the spread of forged paper certificates. 

Investigative reports published by Food Innovation Australia indicates that food fraud costs the global food industry over $50 billion every year — the transparent, immutable nature of blockchain technology would allow Australian businesses to create unforgeable digital certificates in order to protect their products and brand. In addition to discussing the potential use cases of blockchain technology in Australian supply chain applications, the online panel also hosted the announcement of Australia’s first blockchain-based Cooperative Research Center, which has raised over $60 million in order to push blockchain adoption through Australian startups.