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[Press Release DiMuto]
DiMuto Announces Partnership with Leading Global Post Harvest Automation Manufacturer Corporacion Industrial Uruapan (CIU) to Boost Digital Asset Creation Capabilities for Global Agri-Food Trade
  • DiMuto, a tech-based trade solutions platform, partners Corporacion Industrial Uruapan (CIU), a Mexican company dedicated to designing and manufacturing post-harvest processing machinery, to innovate and transform global agri-food trade
  • The new partnership will see DiMuto working together with CIU to boost digital asset creation capabilities for supply chain visibility and trade traceability in the fresh produce industry
  • CIU has over 30 years of industry experience and a global presence spanning 800 projects in over 12 countries including US, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Israel and more
  Singapore, 4 May 2020 – DiMuto, a trade technology solutions platform that provides end-to-end supply chain visibility for global agri-food businesses, has partnered with Corporacion Industrial Urupan (CIU), a leading automation company specializing in designing and manufacturing Computerized Sorting Machines, to innovate and transform the global agri-food supply chain. The collaboration will see the two firms join forces to boost digitalization capabilities for the produce industry by further enhancing the DiMuto Digital Asset Creation devices, otherwise known as DACky, that DiMuto uses to digitalize fresh produce into traceable digital assets. The proprietary DACky is able to uniquely tag, photograph, and track every carton and every fruit at the packinghouse, creating visibility in the agri-food trade. With over 30 years of experience in the post-harvest sector, CIU is a Mexican company dedicated to the design and manufacture of machinery for the agricultural sector in the area of post-harvest. CIU develops automated and semi-automated packaging lines capable of selecting, through an artificial vision system, a wide variety of fruits and vegetables by weight, colour, size, defect, and shape.  CIU’s trajectory and evolution is supported by the design and manufacture of more than 800 projects that have been installed in different parts of Mexico and in other countries, such as: the United States of America, Peru, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, Chile, Brazil, and Israel. “Over the past decades, we have built an incredible foundation as the leading post-harvest automation manufacturer in the industry, helping hundreds of companies to improve the efficiency of their packinghouse operations.  Working with DiMuto gives us an opportunity to scale our business in the traceability frontier and help us reach the Asian and Southeast Asian markets,” said Enrique Martínez Ayala, Chief Executive Officer and Owner of CIU. The partnership will also look at shortening the onboarding process towards their digitalization journey for agri-food customers around the world, as well as achieving seamless integration into operational workflows. The new improvements will strengthen DiMuto’s  4T Suite Solution – a four 4-part trade technology solution combining blockchain, AI and IoT aiming to create traceability for every single fruit as they move through the supply chain by capturing important data at key supply chain stages. “At DiMuto, our vision is to transform the way global agri-food trade is being conducted, especially in the fresh produce industry,” said Gary Loh, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DiMuto. “By working together with CIU, we are accelerating our pace of innovation to bring visibility to global agri-food trade.” Enterprise Singapore supported DiMuto’s internationalization journey in Latin America by providing market insights, sourcing suitable in-market partners, patent filing, proof of concept and assisting with business development and branding efforts. Clarence Hoe, Global Markets Director of Enterprise Singapore said “We congratulate DiMuto on this new partnership with CIU. We are excited to see growing collaborations between Singaporean and Mexican companies which lead to the development of more effective solutions to meet the growing digitalization demand in Mexico. We wish them every success.” “This new alliance between Corporativo Industrial Uruapan (CIU) and Dimuto (a unique combination of Singaporean block chain innovations and top Mexican food industry hardware) clearly exemplifies the commitments established during the last official visit of Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong, to Mexico last November, where he and President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador vowed to consolidate a strong, economic and strategic trade partnership  between our nations. The high-standard Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTPP), as well as the negotiations that are taking place to ensure that Singapore becomes an associate state member of the Pacific Alliance, will facilitate and enhances these efforts. Furthermore, the association of these two innovative agri-tech companies highlights the great capabilities for technological innovation displayed by Mexico and Singapore, also showcase how they will strengthen agroindustry value chains and ensure state of the art Farm to Table traceability for bilateral and intraregional trade,” said Amb. Agustin Garcia -Lopez Loaeza, Ambassador of México in Singapore. The joint effort between DiMuto and CIU brings together the strengths of both companies to innovate and revolutionize agri-food supply chain visibility. Working together provides an exciting global opportunity to leverage CIU’s automation prowess alongside DiMuto’s trade expertise. This collaboration closely follows DiMuto’s latest investment from Latin Leap, a Venture Capital Studio focusing on opening up opportunities in Latin America for Southeast Asian tech-scale ups, and its partnership with International Pineapple Organization, a global trade organization for pineapple growers. To date, DiMuto has tagged over 30 million fruits and tracked and traced over US$100million worth of agri-food trades. With presence in 7 countries including China, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Australia, the partnership with CIU will strengthen DiMuto’s footprint in the fresh produce industry in Latin America. -end- About DiMuto DiMuto is in the business of creating trust. We provide global supply chains with a trade technology platform built on 4Ts: Tracking, Tracing, Transparency and Trust – thus demystifying global trade and enabling collaborative commerce. The DiMuto Track & Trace blockchain platform creates end-to-end trade visibility and forms building blocks for further value creation in trade financing, product marketing and data analytics. Since 2018, DiMuto has successfully tracked and traced over millions of pieces in produce and millions in dollars of trade value on our platform. We work with a global portfolio of clients in over seven countries and five continents. DiMuto is founded by executive chairman Mr Gary Loh, who is also the Executive Chairman of First Alverstone Group. For more information, please visit www.dimuto.io. About Corporacion Industrial Uruapan CORPORACION INDUSTRIAL URUAPAN (CIU), is the only 100% Mexican company dedicated to the design, manufacture and marketing of Computerized Sorting Machines within the agricultural sector in the post-harvest area. Founded in 1985 in the city of Uruapan, Michoacán, Mexico, CIU has managed to position itself as a solid company at the national level, having an increasing presence in international markets. Each of our projects follow a methodology that is tailored to the specific needs of the client, for this we have a large work team, made up of various processes made up of professional staff and trained to respond in a timely and effective manner to the needs that are present. About Enterprise Singapore Enterprise Singapore is the Singapore government agency championing enterprise development. It also supports the growth of Singapore as a hub for global trading and startups. The agency attracts global commodities traders to establish their global or Asian home base in Singapore. Today, Singapore is a leading global trading hub with a complete ecosystem for the energy, agri-commodities and metals & minerals trading clusters. Singapore is also home to many global enterprises, startups and investors that operate in its robust pro-enterprise environment. Enterprise Singapore builds trust in Singapore’s products and services through quality and standards. Renowned for their dedication to quality and innovation, Singapore companies make ideal business partners. With Enterprise Singapore’s global network in over 35 locations spanning many developed and emerging markets, it connects businesses with relevant Singapore companies for their business expansion. Visit www.enterprisesg.gov.sg for more information. ## For media queries, please contact: HuiMin LEE Email: huimin@dimuto.io

DiMuto recently digitized avocados from Peru coming into Singapore and helped create a new level of visibility for the avocado trade. Read on to find out how did DiMuto help to solve challenges of moving produce with no visibility.

The Challenge: Operating in The Land of The Blind

What happens in the fresh produce trade every day? Currently, global produce trade is being conducted with little to no visibility of the supply chain, leaving plenty of room of mistakes that create a heavy burden of proof faced by suppliers when things go wrong.

Global Popularity of the Avocado

The avocado is one of the most popular fruit in the world. In 2017, FAO estimates that the global production of avocados reached 5.71 million tonnes. Avocados are grown mainly in the Southern hemisphere and have to be transported thousands of miles to consumers all over the world – In 2018, according to FreshPlaza, the world imported 2.5 million tons of avocados worth $ 6.1 billion dollars.

Ripeness is critical for fresh avocados

Due to the transit time, it is essential for avocados to be transported in optimal cold chain conditions to maintain freshness of the fruit that can extend the shelf life of avocados by 2 weeks. Avocado transportation differs for each market, and for different seasons, with recommended storage and handling temperatures ranging between 3.3°C – 6°C from Mission Produce. Low maturity fruit will maintain its quality and shelf life at slightly warmer temperatures such as 5.5°C whereas cooler temperatures around 3.3°C will extend shelf life of ripe avocados. Ripeness is determined visually with the skin colour and markings on the avocado. Buyers would need the avocados to be as green as possible. Visual inspection of skin colour is done to determine freshness and there is typically a tolerance of est. 5 – 10% for markings and spots.

The Messy Middle Nightmare Begins – “Your Avocados Are Too Ripe”

For the avocado, a hugely popular fruit, tonnes and tonnes are moved across borders every day with no visibility once it leaves the packinghouse. Thus, it is not uncommon to end up in trade disputes similar to the situation that our Peruvian supplier faced:

At the buyer’s request, the supplier submitted photos of the carton of avocados that they were selling to the buyer through the Whatsapp Group they were in. The photos showed that the avocados were all green and that the pellet was in perfect condition. However, upon arrival, the Peruvian supplier received photos showing that the avocados were too ripe, and that the pellet was damaged, potentially causing bruising and damage to the fruit.

No Data, No Visibility

Suppliers are unable to show what, where and how the trade went wrong. With no data, suppliers often bear the cost of such errors. For this avocado trade, the peruvian supplier was:

  • Unable to verify when the good was received
  • Unable to verify which carton had the issue
  • Unable to verify if damage was done by logistics 3rd party

Such trade disputes can cost suppliers up to 5-10% of every trade. Becoming The One Eyed King

Created by trade for trade, DiMuto brings visibility to the agri-food trade. Using the DiMuto 4T Suite Solution, a 4-part trade technology solution combining blockchain, AI and IoT, DiMuto digitalizes the agri-food supply chain for data visibility and trade transparency, aiming to solve the industry’s various challenges such as food waste, food safety and food sustainability. The DiMuto 4T Suite Solution creates traceability for every single fruit as they move through the supply chain by capturing important data at key supply chain stages. Individual products and cartons are tagged with DiMuto QR codes to assign each one a digital identity. These products and cartons are then digitalized through DiMuto’s proprietary Digital Asset Creation devices (DACky). Buyers can then use the DiMuto Receiver App to acknowledge the receipt of goods and provide feedback, all recorded on the DiMuto Platform to truly close the supply chain loop on one single platform. With the visibility provided by data captured as the product moves through the supply chain, DiMuto helps to reduce disputes over quality and creating trust amongst trade parties.

Easily track & trace every single carton and every single produce for all your produce trade using DiMuto 4T Suite Solution DiMuto helps provide increased supply chain visibility for both suppliers and buyers:

  • Receipt of goods and feedback done on a single platform
  • Able to track quality issues down to individual cartons
  • Easily access product photo and related trade documents

Using our solution, the Peruvian avocado supplier is able to show that they did indeed sell avocados in good condition to the buyer by tracking the product photos on our DiMuto Platform. If you are interested to find out how DiMuto can help your business, please reach us here or drop us an email at sales@dimuto.io.  

Download the one page summary of the case study here. Download our full case study PDF here.

[PRESS RELEASE]

DiMuto Joins International Pineapple Organization (IPO) as Trade Technology Partner

  • DiMuto, a tech-based trade solutions platform, is the now the official Trade Technology Partner for International Pineapple Organization, a global trade organization 
  • The new partnership will see DiMuto providing support to IPO members to digitalize their produce and supply chains while strengthening the IPO’s presence in Southeast Asia
  Singapore, 15 April 2020 – DiMuto, a trade tech solutions platform that provides end-to-end supply chain visibility for global agri-food businesses, has joined the International Pineapple Organization (IPO) as an official Trade Technology Partner. The new collaboration will see DiMuto providing support to the global pineapple association not only through its trade technology solutions, but also for R&D and marketing efforts. The IPO is a Global Trade Organization of pineapple growers from pineapple growing regions around the world, maximize efficiency and profit for the pineapple industry through identifying common needs in Buying, Marketing, Cost Savings, and Consulting. With active presence in Latin America as well as the US, the cooperative’s mission is to identify common needs among its members and leverage the group to maximize efficiencies and economies of scale. According to market research by Tridge, 28.3 million metric tonnes of pineapples were produced in 2018, and the export of fresh pineapples was valued at US$2.1 billion, increasing by 11% from 2014 to 2018. The top pineapple exporting markets are tropical countries such as Costa Rica, Brazil, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand. A 2018 FreshPlaza reports that global consumption of pineapples continues to grow with the largest growth markets in Asia such as China, Indonesia, Vietnam and Philippines. Under the partnership with IPO, DiMuto will be working with members to support the digitalization of their pineapple supply chains, as well as help strengthen the presence of IPO in the Southeast Asia region, in particular pineapple exporting markets such as Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines. Using the DiMuto 4T Suite Solution, a 4-part trade technology solution combining blockchain, AI and IoT, DiMuto digitalizes the agri-food supply chain for data visibility and trade transparency, aiming to solve the industry’s various challenges such as food waste, food safety and food sustainability. The DiMuto 4T Suite Solution creates traceability for every single fruit as they move through the supply chain by capturing important data at key supply chain stages. Individual products and cartons are tagged with DiMuto QR codes to assign each one a digital identity. These products and cartons are then digitalized through DiMuto’s proprietary Digital Asset Creation devices (DACky). Buyers can then use the DiMuto Receiver App to acknowledge the receipt of goods and provide feedback, all recorded on the DiMuto Platform to truly close the supply chain loop on one single platform. With the visibility provided by data captured as the product moves through the supply chain, DiMuto helps to reduce disputes over quality and creating trust amongst trade parties. “IPO is always on the lookout for technology and solutions that would benefit our pineapple growers. I have every confidence that DiMuto’s technology will help create supply chain visibility for our members from around the world and help them grow their international presence,” said William Cavan, Executive Director of IPO. “We are thrilled to have the support of International Pineapple Organization as we strengthen our presence in the produce industry. With our technology, IPO growers will be able to show buyers the high quality of their pineapples for every single carton before it is shipped. This creates trust and reduces uncertainty amidst the disruptions brought on by COVID-19,” said Gary Loh, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DiMuto. This partnership comes hot on the heels of DiMuto’s latest investment from Latin Leap, a Venture Capital Studio focusing on opening up opportunities in Latin America for Southeast Asian tech-scale ups. To date, DiMuto has tagged over 30 million fruits and tracked and traced over US$100million worth of agrifood trades. With presence in 7 countries including US, China, Indonesia, Australia and Mexico, the partnership with IPO will strengthen DiMuto’s international footprint in the global fresh produce industry.   DiMuto 4T Suite Solution -end-   About DiMuto DiMuto is in the business of creating trust. We provide global supply chains with a trade technology platform built on 4Ts: Tracking, Tracing, Transparency and Trust – thus demystifying global trade and enabling collaborative commerce. The DiMuto Track & Trace blockchain platform creates end-to-end trade visibility and forms building blocks for further value creation in trade financing, product marketing and data analytics. Since 2018, DiMuto has successfully tracked and traced over millions of pieces in produce and millions in dollars of trade value on our platform. We work with a global portfolio of clients in over seven countries and five continents. DiMuto is founded by executive chairman Mr Gary Loh, who is also the Executive Chairman of First Alverstone Group. For more information, please visit www.dimuto.io.   About International Pineapple Organisation The International Pineapple Organization (IPO) is a Market Driven Organization (MDO) that exists to bring together the greatest minds from the Pineapple Industry in all its forms under one roof on a regular basis throughout the calendar year. The International Pineapple Organization (IPO) provides a forum for the representatives of Pineapple Producing countries and their counterparts in the various International Markets, Government Bodies, and Scientific Community, to meet on a regular basis and work together in order to ensure the smooth functioning of the Supply & Demand Equation (Market equilibrium). Founded in 2012, The International Pineapple Organization (IPO) is the sister organization of the International Mango Organization (IMO) founded in 2000 by Executive Director Will Cavan.   ## For media queries, please contact: HuiMin LEE Email: huimin@dimuto.io  
[Joint Press Release DiMuto – Latin Leap]
Agri-Food Trade Tech Solutions DiMuto Receives Investment from Latin Leap Venture Capital Studio to Broaden Footprint in Latin America
  • DiMuto, a Singapore-based trade solutions platform, has secured funding from Latin Leap, a Venture Capital Studio focusing on opening up opportunities in Latin America for Southeast Asian tech-scale ups
  • Through blockchain, IoT and AI, DiMuto uses data from digitalising agri-food supply chain to build trusts amongst supply chain stakeholders and solve agri-food supply chain problems such as food wastage, food safety and food sustainability
  • Latin Leap joins other investors including First Alverstone Capital, SGInnovate and PwC Singapore
  • Funding and support from Latin Leap will expedite DiMuto’s growth in agri-food trade and export driven Latin America
Singapore, 30 March 2020 – DiMuto, a trade tech solutions platform that provides end-to-end supply chain visibility for global agri-food businesses, has raised capital from venture capital studio Latin Leap. The investment and support provided by Latin Leap would help drive further international expansion in Latin America, a market where strong continued growth of fresh produce trade is expected. A region that has positioned itself as a leading exporter of agricultural products, Latin America’s fruit and vegetable production and exports have grown considerably, particularly for tropical fruits such as bananas, avocados, pineapples and mangoes. According to a 2019 report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), tropical fruits accounted for a total export value of around US$15.5 billion in Latin America from 2016-18 and overall agricultural trade surplus has steadily increased over the past two decades to reach US$104.3 billion in 2017. “With the strong outlook for the agricultural sector in Latin America, I believe that the industry would benefit from digitalization and traceability offered by DiMuto that would bring peace of mind to consumers around the world. DiMuto fits perfectly into our investment thesis of soft-landing tech-enabled businesses with a positive impact on society in Latin America. We are proud to accompany its growth path in the region,” said Stefan Krautwald, General Partner of Latin Leap. Latin Leap, a newly formed Venture Capital Studio focusing on opening up opportunities in Latin America for Southeast Asian tech-scale ups, is set to base its fund structures out of Singapore with the aim of becoming a partner in the internationalization of the region’s tech sector. Using blockchain, IoT and AI in its trade solutions, DiMuto digitalizes the agri-food supply chain for data visibility and trade transparency, aiming to solve the industry’s various challenges such as food waste, food safety and food sustainability. DiMuto creates traceability for every single fruit as they move through the supply chain – from farms, factories, cold chain to distribution channels and end consumers. Through its proprietary Digital Asset Creation devices (DACky), DiMuto tags each fruit and carton with QR labels and captures images of every carton. Data such as relevant trade documents is then associated with the product information and uploaded onto its blockchained trade platform, effectively reducing disputes over quality and creating trust amongst trade parties. “We are excited to have Latin Leap join us as an investor and partner to grow our presence in Latin America. With data captured using our solutions, stakeholders in the agri-food supply chain are now able to see the quality of fresh produce before it is being shipped, creating trust and visibility in the uncertainty brought on by COVID-19,” said Gary Loh, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DiMuto. Enterprise Singapore supported DiMuto’s internationalization journey in Latin America by providing market insights, sourcing suitable in-market partners such as Latin Leap, patent filing, proof of concept and assisting with business development and branding efforts. Kathy Lai, Deputy CEO of Enterprise Singapore said “A diversified supply chain is part of business continuity planning for companies in today’s operating environment.  Secure digital solutions will be key to address shifts and disruptions in global supply chains, particularly in food security.  Good traceability systems assure safety and quality in global food supply chains. We look forward to assisting more Singapore start-ups like DiMuto in Latin America to support the region’s food sustainability efforts.” To date, DiMuto has tagged over 30 million fruits and tracked and traced over US$100million worth of agrifood trades. With presence in 7 countries including US, China, Indonesia, Australia and Mexico, the new funding and strategic support from Latin Leap will allow DiMuto to further capitalize on its global growth momentum and help drive further international expansion in new markets in Latin America over the next few months.   -end-   About DiMuto DiMuto is in the business of creating trust. We provide global supply chains with a trade technology platform built on 4Ts: Tracking, Tracing, Transparency and Trust – thus demystifying global trade and enabling collaborative commerce. The DiMuto Track & Trace blockchain platform creates end-to-end trade visibility and forms building blocks for further value creation in trade financing, product marketing and data analytics. Since 2018, DiMuto has successfully tracked and traced over millions of pieces in produce and millions in dollars of trade value on our platform. We work with a global portfolio of clients in over seven countries and five continents. DiMuto is founded by executive chairman Mr Gary Loh, who is also the Executive Chairman of First Alverstone Group. For more information, please visit www.dimuto.io.   About Latin Leap Latin Leap is a Venture Capital Studio (VC Studio) being established to create a unique impact investment platform to soft-land purpose-driven tech companies in Latin America and provide access of international scale-ups to deploy in Latin America.  The VC Studio global tech companies with human and financial commitment, and contribute to quality education by fostering knowledge-intensive businesses in the region The main pursuits in the Latin Leap VC Studio are:
  1. Impact Investment: The investment sweet spot is on purpose-driven companies with proven product market fits from any tech-hub in the world. The initial investment focus country is Singapore, as a result of the strong ecosystem relationships on the market. Latin Leap is an agnostic fund, but tends to target Edtech, Fintech, Cleantech, Agtech, Healthtech and Mobility verticals.
  2. Soft-landing: Latin Leap is scheduled to operate with the efficiencies of tech-based companies, offering preferred access to experienced Venture Partners as gatekeepers, and access to Corporate Partnerships as well as a unique geographical footprint in the testbed market Colombia.
About Enterprise Singapore Enterprise Singapore is the Singapore government agency championing enterprise development. It also supports the growth of Singapore as a hub for global trading and startups. The agency attracts global commodities traders to establish their global or Asian home base in Singapore. Today, Singapore is a leading global trading hub with a complete ecosystem for the energy, agri-commodities and metals & minerals trading clusters. Singapore is also home to many global enterprises, startups and investors that operate in its robust pro-enterprise environment. Enterprise Singapore builds trust in Singapore’s products and services through quality and standards. Renowned for their dedication to quality and innovation, Singapore companies make ideal business partners. With Enterprise Singapore’s global network in over 35 locations spanning many developed and emerging markets, it connects businesses with relevant Singapore companies for their business expansion. Visit www.enterprisesg.gov.sg for more information. ## For media queries, please contact: HuiMin LEE Email: huimin@dimuto.io –
As featured on the news: AgFunder
Global AgInvesting Tech in Asia Dealstreetasia Singapore Business Review Fruitnet Freshplaza 动点科技

COVID-19 is now a global pandemic, as declared by the WHO last week. The widespread infectious virus has set in motion several national lockdowns across the globe lasting from two weeks to indefinitely. New Zealand and India are now in the midst of lockdown as we speak.

Social distancing is now encouraged by governments worldwide, and employees are working from home whenever possible. Many businesses have halted operations, including food services and restaurants that have temporarily closed their doors – leaving suppliers and distributors struggling to redirect their supply, while supermarkets and online groceries struggle to fulfill the spike in demand for fresh produce caused by hoarding behaviour and public panic.

Empty supermarket shelves

In Australia, produce prices have drastically increased in Woolworths amid the higher demand caused by panic buying. As more people stay at home in light of the pandemic, demand for fresh fruits and vegetables would likely hike, as they now have more time to consume fresh food. The emphasis on keeping one’s immune system healthy, coupled with experts recommending to keep fresh fruit and vegetables in diets, has led to stronger demand for fresh produce in many countries, including Australia.

Despite the sudden boost in demand at retailers worldwide for fresh produce, there are also farmers and growers that are struggling to redirect their supply. The coronavirus has disrupted trade between China and ASEAN countries such as Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, where China is a significant market for Southeast Asian agricultural exports. With contains now rotting at the Chinese borders due to the lockdown, and fruits waiting to be harvested with nowhere to go, the food waste generated would also be considerable.

This “messy middle” of our food supply chain becomes even more of a nightmare to navigate when you consider the logistical nightmare of transporting the food to reach consumers. Container capacity cuts, slowing of international freights, and an overall slowdown in the turnaround speed of containers will definitely affect our global food supply chain, given its interconnectedness.

The difficulty of navigating this messy middle can be felt in places like Queensland, Australia, where the ship lock-out policy has led to criticism that the 14-day COVID-19 bans on cargo vessels entering Australian ports will result in “severe” disruptions to food supplies and other everyday household goods. In the UK, where 40% of food eaten comes from imports, the limitation of border traffic could result in delayed fresh food transit and increased food wastage.

With a huge amount of international trade serving as the backbone of the world’s food supply chain, it is essential to continue operations. However, agrifood players throughout the supply chain are finding it difficult to get a clear view on the entire situation in order to better redirect supply to match demand in the global food supply chain.

This is not a new problem – the agrifood industry has long been plagued by disconnected visibility of the supply chain. This disconnected visibility stems from the reality, or flow of physical agrifood products, being different from the flow of digital information. The inability to concisely trace and track agrifood trade has resulted in many challenges such as food waste, food safety crises and trade disputes that result in whopping annual losses. Think a global 1.6 billion tonnes of fresh food being wasted every year.

Trade disputes are the bane of fresh produce trade. Buyers often end up receiving produce that do not match the order specifications and suppliers face heavy burden of proof when it comes to showing that they packed the produce to order specifications. This has led to a 5- 10% loss of each container or order of fresh produce being rampant in the industry, and a resultant lack of trust between buyers and suppliers, particularly for new trades.

Given the atmosphere of distrust, buyers and suppliers typically do businesses with companies that they know. This becomes a problem when agrifood traders are looking to expand into new markets, or in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, redirect supply to demand. At the same time, given the pressure put on distributors and retailers to supply food to consumers, it is critical that they receive exactly what they order. The current situation can afford no mistakes, meaning there has to be a way to see mistakes and rectify them at the soonest.

This is why, now more than ever, digitalizing produce and the supply chain is critical and essential to solving this disconnected visibility and build trust.

Digitalizing produce simply means creating a digital identity for every single physical agrifood product, thereby allowing agrifood players to obtain data from physical produce itself. At the moment, trade players are only able to share trade documents and one of two photos of the products over channels like emails or social messaging apps, leading to messy communications that are hard to verify and keep track of.

Our DiMuto 4T Suite Solutions helps companies to easily digitalize produce and aggregate their supply chain information all on one single digital platform. Using a combination of blockchain, AI and IoT to run our 4T Suite Solution, we are able to track and trace every single physical product and carton for every single trade order, along with imaging showing visible quality markers as well as relevant trade documentation.

Efficiently sharing immutable trade order information for both documents and products with relevant trade partners brings higher levels of transparency to the supply chain. This creates trust with full traceability and visibility provided by DiMuto.

DiMuto 4T Suite Solution

DiMuto 4T Suite Solutions

As part of the 4T Suite Solutions, our DiMuto DACky devices are able to capture an image of the produce as the items are packed before being shipped out, and buyers are able to see the produce before it’s moved on the DiMuto Platform.

This reduces the risk of receiving produce that does match their purchase order specification after either a month’s wait via sea freight or costly air freight. Buyers would then, conceivably, be more inclined to make the purchase knowing beforehand that they would be able to see the produce before it leaves the packinghouse.

By reducing the uncertainty in such uncertain times through data, we can then carry on with the trade between produce suppliers and buyers and better hedge against any disruption caused by uncertain and unexpected situations.

In light of the current coronavirus crisis, we remain committed to helping agrifood players trade better and build a more transparent food supply chain. Contact us at sales@dimuto.io.

[Press Release]

Launch of World’s First Blockchained Fresh Produce Children’s Brand SazzyFresh Powered by DiMuto Trade Solutions

  • SazzyFresh, a global fresh produce brand owned by SLS Atelier, aims to make healthy eating choices fun and engaging for children by introducing the SazzyPets Cartoon characters
  • SazzyFresh brand of produce, currently retailed at local supermarkets such as Ryan’s Grocery in Singapore; plans to enter Australia, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia next
  • Blockchain-powered DiMuto Trade Solutions employed by SazzyFresh to deliver on the brand’s promise of safe, traceable, and healthy produce and to communicate the brand story to consumers

Singapore, 16 March 2020 SazzyFresh, a global fresh produce brand owned by SLS Atelier, has closed a deal with DiMuto, a tech-based trade solutions platform providing end-to-end supply chain visibility for global businesses. Under the agreement, DiMuto will be digitalizing the entire line of SazzyFresh fruits and vegetables on the blockchain-based DiMuto Trade Platform for food traceability and marketing purposes.

SazzyFresh’s partnership with DiMuto allows the children’s brand to incorporate blockchain technology into its operations for greater supply chain transparency and food traceability. With its supply chain data uploaded on the immutable blockchain, SazzyFresh can now better track its fresh produce products as they move across borders, and better ensure food safety to provide peace of mind for parents when purchasing fresh groceries for young children.

SazzyFresh fresh produce features characters from the children cartoon series SazzyPets

The SazzyFresh brand of fresh produce features cartoon characters from SazzyPets, an animated series created by Singaporean teenager Sarah Loh based on drawings done by her nine-year-old self. The animated cartoon series promotes educational and positive messages from which children can learn, including kindness, being considerate, and healthy eating. All 9 episodes have previously been distributed worldwide on Amazon Prime in US, Germany, Britain and Japan, and are currently available on YouTube Kids.

“SazzyPets started because I wanted to create something that could be enjoyed by kids of all ages,” said Sarah Loh, creator and chief editor of SazzyPets. “It is supposed to educate and inspire them to grow up to be good people. I am excited to spread the message of SazzyFresh and make a difference.”

Curated with young kids in mind, the SazzyFresh range is an easy, healthy way for young kids to get fresh fruits and veggies. Mirroring the do-good ethos of SazzyPets, healthy eating, food safety, and sustainability are the three main pillars driving the SazzyFresh brand. With consumers demanding “perfect produce”, fruits and vegetables deemed too small often go to waste as suppliers fail to find a market for them. By creating a children’s brand with such fruits, SazzyFresh encourages healthy eating in their young audience while tackling food waste.

The deal with DiMuto allows SazzyFresh to track and trace its fresh produce from farm to fork and to share the relevant supply chain blockchain data with end consumers. Using DiMuto QR codes and Sales & Marketing Awareness & Retention Tool (SMART) solution, SazzyFresh is able to communicate their brand story and focus on food traceability to consumers. When consumers scan the DiMuto QR codes tagged to individual SazzyFresh produce, they are able to see the origin of their product, obtain information about the farm and growing practices, as well as learn new recipes and participate in exciting lucky draws.

“DiMuto is proud to support SazzyFresh and help deliver its brand promise with our technology,” said Gary Loh, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DiMuto. “The DiMuto Trade Solutions Platform allows food brands like SazzyFresh to truly track and trace its offerings and communicate the brand mission of delivering sustainable, safe, healthy produce to parents and young children.”

SazzyFresh produce are now available on retail shelves in Singapore. The SazzyFresh Fresh Plums from Western Australia are currently retailed at the Singapore outlets of Ryan’s Grocery, an international specialist food retailer offering premium alternative gourmet, organic, gluten-, allergen- and preservative-free specialty foods.

SazzyFresh is deeply committed to working with supply chain partners who share a common vision and to supporting social initiatives for sustainability and giving back. SazzyFresh will donate a portion of all sales proceeds to The Global Mangrove Trust, a Singaporean non-profit that is coordinating global mangrove reforestation efforts with at-risk, coastal communities around Southeast Asia and generating livelihoods for families and women in particular in tree planting, forest conservation, artisanal fishing and aquaculture.

Simon Schillebeeckx, Co-Founder and Director of Global Mangrove Trust explains more “Mangroves sequester up to ten times more carbon than temperate forests, and protect coastal communities and their natural ecosystems against cyclone, typhoons and coastal flooding aggravated by climate change. The Global Mangrove Trust is happy to work together with vanguard brands like SazzyFresh to create real and immediately impact efforts for sustainability. We look forward to planting more mangrove trees and strengthening Earth’s green lungs with support from visionary leaders like SazzyFresh and its customers.”

As part of the DiMuto Global Trade Network, SazzyFresh is also planning to expand its selection of fresh produce into international markets in the upcoming months. SazzyFresh will launch more offerings such as mini apples, mandarin oranges and cherry tomatoes to export markets such as Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Every carton and punnet of SazzyFresh Western Australian Plums has been digitalized with DiMuto QR Codes and tracked on the DiMuto Trade Platform

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About SazzyPets
SazzyPets, an animated cartoon series for children, is designed, licensed and produced by SLS Atelier Pte Ltd. The company also produces SazzyPets products that include stationery, school supplies and gifts. In addition, the company has developed Sazzypets.com, a virtual world and online game aimed at children between 4-8, which allows users to socialize and play educational puzzles. SLS Atelier also takes part in financing, movie, drama, lifestyle production and publishing.

SLS Atelier is a media company owned by First Alverstone Partners Pte Ltd (“FAPL”) whose shareholders are Mr Gary Loh and Ms Selena Cheng (Mr Gary Loh’s wife). SLS Atelier has developed a Cartoon Series titled “SazzyPets” (“SazzyPets”) TV animation series.

About DiMuto
DiMuto is in the business of creating trust. We provide global supply chains with a trade technology platform built on 4Ts: Tracking, Tracing, Transparency and Trust – thus demystifying global trade and enabling collaborative commerce.

 The DiMuto Track & Trace blockchain platform creates end-to-end trade visibility and forms building blocks for further value creation in trade financing, product marketing and data analytics. Since 2018, DiMuto has successfully tracked and traced over millions of pieces in produce and millions in dollars of trade value on our platform. We work with a global portfolio of clients in over seven countries and five continents.

DiMuto is founded by executive chairman Mr Gary Loh, who is also the Executive Chairman of First Alverstone Group. For more information, please visit www.dimuto.io.

About Global Mangrove Trust
Global Mangrove Trust is a non-profit organisation based in Singapore, led by a team of multidisciplinary innovators, educators and environmentalists; and supported by an advisory board of forward-thinking individuals and organisations. Our goal is to plant as many trees as possible, as quickly as possible, and ensure those trees grow into forests. To achieve this, we are building a peer-to-peer funding, financial traceability, and forest growth verification platform that will drastically lower costs in the market for sustainability impact. Come join us at www.globalmangrove.org

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For media queries, please contact:

HuiMin LEE
Phone : +65 6275 1611
Email : contact_us@dimuto.io

As featured on the news:

Fruitnet

Freshplaza

Produce Report

Morning Glory Farms is now able to connect with end consumers and tell the story of their Spaghetti Squash – showcasing their farm and educating consumers about the origin of their produce and how to enjoy Spaghetti Squash, closing the feedback loop from farm to fork both locally and in the Southeast Asia region.

About Morning Glory Farms

Morning Glory Farms is a third and fourth generation farm located in the Southern Forests region of Western Australia.

  • Location: Southern Forests, Western Australia
  • Industry: Fresh Produce, Cattle and Sheep
  • Supplies produce to leading supermarket retailers like Coles and IGA
  • Grows diverse range of crops such as stone fruit, sweet corn and spaghetti squash

DiMuto Results

  • SMART Marketing Solutions helped engaged end consumers and strengthen Morning Glory Farms brand
  • DiMuto Digital Asset Creation (DAC) and Trade Platform provided trade traceability that helped move Morning Glory Farms Produce into Southeast Asia

Key Challenges: Engaging End Consumers and Educating Them About Spaghetti Squash to Grow Export Demand

While the spaghetti squash is available in supermarkets around the world, it is still relatively unknown to many consumers, especially in Southeast Asia. Thus, marketing and branding campaigns need to be done to let more people know about the produce, and how to enjoy and cook the produce.

As farmers, Morning Glory Farms found it difficult to reach out to consumers directly and tell the story of their produce. They lacked a simple, cost-efficient method to communicate the produce origins, farming practices and story of their farm to consumers.

The limited consumer awareness and knowledge on spaghetti squash, coupled with their lack of familiarity with the neighbouring region of Southeast Asia, made growing their export market challenging for Morning Glory Farms.

How DiMuto Helps 

As part of DiMuto’s trade solutions platform, the Sales & Marketing Retention & Awareness Tool (SMART) Marketing solution allows small and medium produce growers and suppliers like Morning Glory Farms to conduct cost effective marketing campaigns to engage consumers. When consumers scan the DiMuto QR codes tagged to the Spaghetti Squash, they are able to see its product origin, obtain information about the farm and growing practices, as well as learn new recipes and participate in exciting lucky draws. Consumers are also encouraged to leave feedback on the squash, giving Morning Glory Farms important information about the quality of the product and the consumer experience.

Morning Glory Farms Squash Traceability

Morning Glory Farms Squash with DiMuto QR and Product Page as part of DiMuto SMART Marketing Solution 

The traceability provided by digitalizing their produce also allowed Morning Glory Farms to gain trust with new buyers, access the Singapore market and showcase their produce like Spaghetti and Squash on the retail floor as part of DiMuto’s Global Trade Network.

Morning Glory Farms Squash at Wholesale Market in Singapore

Morning Glory Farms Plums

Morning Glory Farms Plums at Wholesale Market in Singapore

DiMuto Distributor Receiver App

As each carton of plums has been assigned a unique DiMuto QR code, Morning Glory Farms is able to track and trace every single carton of plums on the blockchained DiMuto Trade Platform and share the information with their trade partners. At the point of receiving in the export market Singapore, the distributor can also use the DiMuto app to acknowledge receipt of goods and close the supply chain loop.

Simply scan the carton of produce to begin

Buyers are able to leave immediate feedback related to each carton and each order directly on the DiMuto Platform.

Buyers are also able to upload photos showing the quality of the produce that they have received. Each photo and feedback information will be uploaded onto the DiMuto blockchain-powered Trade Platform under the relevant trade order. Buyers will also have easy access to all the relevant trade documents related to each carton and each individual products – including product certificates, shipping documents, invoices etc. This closes the loop from farm/packinghouse to the buyer/distributor using a single platform. 

Morning Glory Farms produce being retailed in Singapore

With the traceability of their produce, Morning Glory Farms is now able to directly engage consumers easily and get access to new export markets.

Bevan Eatts Morning Glory Farms DiMuto Western Australia Squash

Morning Glory Farms owner Bevan (Left) and son Ewan Eatts, with DiMuto Founder and Chairman Gary Loh (Right)

Bevan Eatts, owner of Morning Glory Farms, commented, “As a grower, it is difficult to reach out to consumers directly and tell our story. With DiMuto’s marketing solution, we are now able to let people know where and how their squash is grown, as well as getting feedback from them – a platform that truly closes the loop from farm to fork.”

With DiMuto-verified products and trade, Morning Glory Farms was able to access new export markets in Southeast Asia as part of DiMuto’s Global Trade Network, and conduct marketing campaigns to grow their brand.

If you are interested to learn more about how DiMuto helps create traceability for fresh produce, please reach us here or drop us an email at sales@dimuto.io.  

DiMuto is featured in the latest edition of VegWA. Our SMART Marketing Solution provides growers and suppliers a direct engagement tool with end consumers.

 

 

 

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[Press Release]

Western Australian Squash Grower Morning Glory Farms Launches Consumer Marketing Campaign Using DiMuto Solutions

  • Morning Glory Farms, a spaghetti squash grower in Australia, will work with DiMuto to digitalize its squash and conduct marketing campaigns to end consumers 
  • The Morning Glory Farms brand of spaghetti squash is sold at major local retailers in Western Australia, including Coles and IGA
  • The SMART marketing services powered by unique DiMuto QR codes is a cost-effective solution to reach out to end consumers and communicate brand stories of farmers and growers
  • The deal underscores the 360 approach to solving global agri-food supply chain challenges that DiMuto trade platform brings beyond just supply chain traceability

 

Singapore, 24 February 2020 DiMuto, a tech-based trade solutions platform that provides end-to-end supply chain visibility for global businesses, has secured a deal with Western Australia produce grower Morning Glory Farms. DiMuto will be digitalizing Morning Glory Farms’ spaghetti squash to track and trace them throughout the supply chain, as well as conduct consumer marketing campaigns. The partnership signals the company’s expansion into the Australian market and the strengthening of its trade network.

Located in the Southern Forests region in Western Australia, Morning Glory Farms is a third and fourth generation farm growing a diverse range of crops such as stone fruit, sweet corn and spaghetti squash, as well as cattle and sheep. Morning Glory Farms is also associated with Southern Forest Food Council, a government-backed association representing over 100 producers and growers in the Southern Forests and Valleys region. Morning Glory Farms supplies spaghetti squash to leading supermarket retailers like Coles and IGA in Western Australia.

Bevan Eatts, owner of Morning Glory Farms, commented, “As a grower, it is difficult to reach out to consumers directly and tell our story. With DiMuto’s marketing solution, we are now able to let people know where and how their squash is grown, as well as getting feedback from them – a platform that truly closes the loop from farm to fork.”

As part of DiMuto’s trade solutions platform, the Sales & Marketing Retention & Awareness Tool (SMART) Marketing solution allows small and medium produce growers and suppliers to conduct cost effective marketing campaigns to engage consumers. When consumers scan the DiMuto QR codes tagged to individual food products, they are able to see the origin of their product, obtain information about the farm and growing practices, as well as learn new recipes and participate in exciting lucky draws. Consumers are also encouraged to leave feedback on their produce, giving brand owners important information about the quality of the product and the consumer experience.

“One of the common problems that growers have is that they’re unable to engage end consumers directly, and DiMuto’s QR Marketing solution aims to change that. At the same time, consumers are able to know the origins of their food and the story of the farmers. That is why we are truly honoured to be working together with Morning Glory Farms to reach out to consumers and communicate the good work that their farm has put in,” said Mr Gary Loh, DiMuto’s Founder and Chairman.

Under this partnership, DiMuto will also be helping Morning Glory Farms to grow their international presence in the Southeast Asia region, and target Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand as key export markets for Morning Glory Farms produce.

This deal is part of the company’s plan to expand their trade network of suppliers and buyers in more international markets. DiMuto most recently received funding from SGInnovate, a Singapore Government-owned venture firm. The funding and strategic support from SGInnovate will help the company further capitalize on its global growth momentum over the next few months.

Bevan Morning Glory Farms DiMuto Western Australia Squash

Morning Glory Farms owner Bevan (Left) and son Ewan Eatts, with DiMuto Founder and Chairman Gary Loh (Right) at the Morning Glory Farms in Western Australia

Morning Glory Farms Spaghetti Squash Arriving in Singapore

 

Morning Glory Farms being retailed in Singapore

-end-

About DiMuto

DiMuto is in the business of creating trust. We provide global supply chains with a trade technology platform built on 4Ts: Tracking, Tracing, Transparency and Trust – thus demystifying global trade and enabling collaborative commerce.

The DiMuto Track & Trace blockchain platform creates end-to-end trade visibility and forms building blocks for further value creation in trade financing, product marketing and data analytics. Since 2018, DiMuto has successfully tracked and traced over millions of pieces in produce and millions in dollars of trade value on our platform. We work with a global portfolio of clients in over seven countries and five continents.

DiMuto is founded by executive chairman Mr Gary Loh, who is also the Executive Chairman of First Alverstone Group. For more information, please visit www.dimuto.io.

##

For media queries, please contact:

HuiMin LEE
Phone : +65 6275 1611
Email : contact_us@dimuto.io

As featured in the news:

Fruitnet

Freshplaza

Produce Report

Perishable News

The Western Australian

Stock Journal

Australian Food News

PMA ANZ

This is the third article in the series “The Digital Supply Chain”. This series explores what is digitalization, reasons for digitalization and best methods for digitalization of agri-food supply chains.

Trade Financing is Essential to Global Trade

According to the WTO, trade financing powers over 80% to 90% of global trade worth $15trn a year.  Importers, or buyers, naturally want to make payments as late as possible, often having longer payment terms while exporters, or sellers, need to obtain payments for their goods immediately – creating a conflict of interest at the crux of this business relationship. Thus, import and export transactions are heavily dependent on trade financing, which facilitates the trade process of exporters receiving payments and importers receiving their goods.

Challenges faced by fresh produce growers doing global trade

For the fresh produce trade, valued at $115bn in 2017, the sheer volume of transactions and transportation which must be conducted across borders in order to ensure buyers have consistent supplies of fruit can cause severe cash flow issues in otherwise healthy accounts receivable. This is compounded by the fact that revenue streams are affected by the seasonality of the industry, making managing cash flow critical for sustainable growth in the produce trade. For instance, without additional working capital, produce exporters would find it challenging to reach their goals of expanding to new markets and strengthening their relationships with current customers.

Challenges faced by SMEs

Small and medium businesses often have very limited access to loans and other forms of interim financing to cover the cost of goods they plan to buy or sell. Even with a confirmed purchase order, many banks typically still will not provide loans for such transactions. A global survey conducted by Asian Development Bank, reveals a global trade finance gap of a staggering $1.5 trn in 2019, with over 40% of SME trade finance applications being rejected by banks.

According to a report from the International Trade Centre, a joint agency of the WHO and United Nations, main barriers to SME financing include long and tedious process of assessing, monitoring and managing SME loans translating to high costs of SME loans. This is due to a lack of readily available and verifiable information on the company’s background, financial statements, credit histories, as well as a lack of available collateral and an efficient way to verify the quality of the collateral.

Thus, for small and medium agrifood and produce players, getting the trade financing they need to grow their produce trade business is a problem.

How Digitalizing Produce Can Solve The Problem

Digitalized produce can help small and medium produce businesses overcome such barriers and get access to trade financing. As mentioned in our previous article, digitalised produce is simply a physical produce that has a digital identity. At DiMuto, we help to digitalise produce by tagging each fruit or vegetable with a QR Label. The QR Label acts as a digital identifier for each fruit and contains data pertaining to the fruit.

Hence, when you digitalize physical assets such as produce, asset tracking is now possible – the identity, movement and condition of individual products and cartons can now be easily tracked and traced, improving the economic lifetime of such physical products as found in a study by the Community of Practice consisting of Rabobank, Allen & Overy, Schiphol Group, Avery Dennison on behalf of the NBA (The Royal Netherlands Institute of Chartered Accountants), Circularise, Everledger, Fairphone, Sustainable Finance Lab and Circle Economy. Transparency on the information, movement, and condition of assets gives produce companies a better grip on their assets and hence might improve the value of the asset as collateral to underwrite a loan. As tracking of these assets improves the accuracy of forecasted cash flows and control over assets, it lowers the risk profile of produce businesses and increases their chances to obtain funding.

DiMuto helps agrifood and produce companies to digitalize their produce by providing physical asset digitalization – meaning we assign a digital identity to every single physical produce, and are able to capture a photo of each carton and product before each carton is sealed, upload this photo and associate it to the specific sales order it was packed for. The visual photo ascertaining the quality of the produce, as well as the ability to trace and track individual physical produce can make the verification of collateral quality more efficient and verifiable, lowering the barriers to trade financing for agrifood players, particularly small and medium growers, packers, and buyers that do not traditionally have such access to such financing.

Every fruit now has a digital identity thanks to DiMuto QR codes

At the packhouse: Our Digital Asset Creation machine, otherwise known as DACky

Every carton has an identity and can now be tracked

Learn more about how we digitalize produce via the video above

DiMuto Trade Solutions

However, digitalizing produce is just one part of the equation. A platform that is able to collect and verify all the information regarding the produce is equally important. That is why DiMuto’s trade platform is blockchain-enabled. With its ability to upload immutable trade documents, blockchain has the potential to share verified documents relating to each trade in a secure and efficient manner.

The moment a physical asset like fresh produce can be digitalized, businesses can easily track not only the movement of the product but also critical product information such as quality, health certificates, certificate of origins, product photos tagged to the specific individual product, as well as relevant trade documents surrounding each supply chain transaction.

Such data is first captured in secure, sequenced blocks of information under the productʼs digital identity and automatically uploaded onto our blockchain-powered Track & Trace Trade Platform. This means that all the related information needed when trying to apply for trade financing is now readily available on our platform.

We then work with financiers, who because of the transparency of information gathered onto our platform, have greater confidence in providing financing for such produce trades of our customers. We recently helped to finance US$2 million worth of durian trades, which you can read more about it here.

If you are interested to learn more about how DiMuto helps create traceability for fresh produce, please reach us here or drop us an email at sales@dimuto.io.