The ICE Benchmark Administration Limited has, in partnership with data solutions firm, Meridia, launched the ICE Commodity Traceability (ICE CoT) service.
The technology platform is designed to support industries’ compliance with the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and maintain the frictionless trade of physical cocoa and coffee.
The EU, the largest market for cocoa and coffee worldwide, passed the regulation in May this year as part of efforts to reduce deforestation associated with its commodities imports.
Per the EUDR rules, companies that place or export targeted commodities on the EU market will be required to show due diligence proof the product is not associated with deforestation.
“ICE CoT aims to automate the process of submitting, storing, and validating the necessary information for cocoa and coffee operators and traders to ensure and demonstrate compliance of their products with the regulation. It is aimed at supporting all commercial trade affected by the EUDR,” said Meridia.
President of IBA, Clive de Ruig, said “Meridia’s proven expertise in the risk assessment and verification of farm origin and supply chain data will be embedded within ICE CoT, using Meridia Verify’s technology and methodology to provide robust validation for farm and traceability data provided by cocoa and coffee traders and operators.”
A press release copied to Cocoa Post explained that customers will be able to register and validate parcels of beans and products in the ICE Commodity Traceability platform, which can be maintained and tracked as they are traded, divided, and processed along the supply chain.
The ICE CoT is said to provide continuous and independent validation of the traceability data from the initial parcel to its ultimate use or export, giving confidence to operators and traders in the quality and compliance of the product’s underlying data.
“ICE’s objective to ensure that cocoa and coffee remain easily tradable is closely aligned with Meridia’s mission to deliver services that ensure the future of sustainable smallholder supply chains, for whom continued frictionless access to EU markets is so critical,” said Thomas Vaasen, Meridica CEO.
He called Meridia’s partnership with IBA “an excellent example of how our expertise in farm origin and supply chain data verification can be used to support all stakeholders in complex supply chains.”
- Illegal Mining Threatening Ghana’s $230M Cocoa Rehabilitation - April 10, 2024
- Ghana Raises Cocoa Farmgate Price by 58.26% to GHC2,070 per bag - April 5, 2024
- New Standard for Measuring Cocoa Household Income Launched - April 5, 2024