The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the AgriFood industry has been greatly increasing recent years. According to Markets&Markets, the Agriculture industry’s spending on AI technology is predicted to increase from $1bn in 2020 to $4bn in 2026.AI-based solutions have great potential to help Agrifood businesses become more efficient in their operations, make better trade decisions, and provide higher quality products faster.In lieu of such benefits,DiMuto has developed and incorporated AI technology into our Global Trade Solutionsto help our customers scale greater heights.
Product Quality AI
Image: View of Product Quality AI on the DiMuto Platform
Firstly, DiMuto has created a Product Quality AI that helps suppliers deliver a consistent high quality product to their buyers. Agrifood businesses very familiar with carrying out thorough QC inspections on their products to determine the quality of the goods and the presence of any defects. However, this important process can be extremely time consuming within a business’ operations and the quality of the goods may be subjective across different audiences.
Using AI, QC Inspections can now be more efficiently and objectively done. DiMuto’s Product Quality AI is currently able to analyse fruit products in three critical aspects:
Detecting ripeness based on surface colour of fruit
Confirming fruit size based on length and width direction
Number of products in a carton
This AI analysis is able to be instantly generated on the DiMuto platform when users capture and digitise images of their product onto the DiMuto system. Furthermore, it can also be applied onto a moving conveyer line that utilises the DiMuto Digital Asset Creation devices (DACKY).
Trade Health & Financing AI
Image: View of Trade Health & Financial AI Homepage on DiMuto Platform
Secondly, DiMuto Financial Services leverages AI to assess trade health and product quality for every trade transaction on our platform. Working with perishables in a digitally disconnected and data-opaque AgriFood industry is typically regarded as fraught with risks by financiers. In order to access this risk, banks and other financing platforms tend to rely on a business’ historical financial documents. However, assessing such documents may not be a reliable way to judge the risk of financing a company as they may be altered, forged, or irrelevant to their current operations.
DiMuto uses AI to avoid such issues by providing Agrifood business and financiers with:
Visibility of day-to-day operations
A complete & accurate image of the financial & operational strength of the company
Low-risk lending for financiers, opportunities for buyers/suppliers
Such analyses can be made from the real-time trade data of each trade that is captured on the DiMuto Platform. In combination with the Product Quality AI, DiMuto can generate a financial risk score for each trade and company that can be used for post-shipment financing opportunities. Thus, DiMuto’s Trade Health & Financing AI allows for financiers to enjoy deeper visibility and more robust assurance and for borrowers gain more accurate risk assessments and more flexible terms.
Image: View of Trade Health & Financial AI Screen on DiMuto Platform
At DiMuto, we understand the utility AI can have in empowering Agrifood business make better informed trade decisions to improve their operational efficiency, product quality, and business growth. With such seamless integration with other DiMuto features, we hope to make AI technology accessible and approachable to our customers to help foster a more resilient global Agrifood supply chain.
A Need For Digital Transformation of Agrifood Supply Chain
In the face of a growing global population and the intricacies of the agrifood supply chain, digital transformation has become a necessity rather than a luxury. The shift from traditional methods to digitalization and automation is vital to enhance efficiency, transparency, and sustainability. By digitizing operations and breaking down data silos, real-time communication and collaboration among stakeholders can be achieved. QR code labels and digital twins, exemplified by DiMuto, facilitate supply chain visibility and data capture from production to distribution. Incorporating technologies like IoT, sensors, and blockchain enables informed decision-making, waste reduction, and increased efficiency. AI and data analytics further contribute by predicting yields, optimizing routes, and tailoring production. Sustainability is a driving force behind this transformation, allowing resource conservation and waste reduction, ultimately leading to a more sustainable food system with environmental and social benefits.
Aleta Planet integrates payment solutions with DiMuto’s blockchain-enabled platform
AgriFood customers and financing partners now gain maximum visibility on flow of goods and funds across supply chain
Singapore, 17 January 2023 – Global fintech player Aleta Planet said today that customers using DiMuto’s AgriFood trade solutions to track the movements of perishable goods through the global supply chain can now use its payment solutions.
By integrating its payment solutions with DiMuto’s blockchain-enabled platform, Aleta Planet is able to offer a high degree of transparency and traceability to businesses and institutions involved in the trading and financing of agricultural products like fresh vegetables and fruit, meat and livestock and seafood products as they move from farm to table.
The payment functionality went live four months after Aleta Planet and DiMuto announced they were teaming up to tackle supply chain inefficiencies that have led to gross wastage and lack of access to financing in the global trading of perishable AgriFood products.
DiMuto’s AgriFood trade platform offers three key services – DiMuto Marketplace, DiMuto Trade Management and DiMuto Trade Financing. DiMuto leverages its ecosystem of traceable buyers and suppliers to move traceable AgriFood products around the world. Once the order has been placed between a buyer and a seller, the products are tracked and managed using DiMuto’s Trade Management module. These orders, with the added visibility on DiMuto, are now available for financing on DiMuto.
DiMuto’s proprietary digital asset creation technology (DACKY) tracks AgriFood products with QR labels and digital images to track the movement of produce so that every buyer and seller of goods and services along the supply chain – from farmers and packers to the logistics and shipping companies, distributors, and retailers – know where the products are at any point in time.
Buyers can verify the quality of the products from AI-scored images uploaded to the platform before they are packed and receive advance warning of any delays in delivery. The seller, on the other hand, can see the produce when the carton is opened at the receiving end. This helps to assure objective product quality assessment across the supply chain.
With Aleta Planet’s payment solutions embedded with DiMuto’s technology, those making and receiving payments for goods and services as well as those providing financing can easily access all critical data regarding the product quality, documentation and payment activities for every single trade order. Additionally, blockchain-enabled systems such as DiMuto offer users a greater level of security since records are updated and stored across different computers which can be accessed by interested parties.
Ryan Gwee, Founder and Group Chairman of Aleta Planet, said: “Everyone involved in the global trading and financing of perishable products knows how useful it is to have maximum visibility of the flow of goods and funds along multiple points in the supply chain. Now they can have that and more – visibility of products, documents, and payments down to each carton and item.
“We are confident that Aleta Planet’s payment solutions for DiMuto’s blockchain-enabled platform will go a long way to making trade in agricultural produce safer, smoother and speedier.”
Aleta Planet said it issues digital accounts globally that enable cross-border B2B payments. With its global account setup, customers can leverage on card networks like Diners Club, Discover Network, MasterCard, Visa and UnionPay International, or alternative payment solutions, to find the most cost-effective cross-border payment mechanism. Aleta Planet’s global footprint across six jurisdictions and ability to collect local currencies are value-adds to DiMuto to scale their business globally.
Participants in the supply chain will be able to leverage the digital account’s ability to collect and pay in 14 different currencies at competitive exchange rates. Financing is also available through Aleta Planet’s partners including Asia Capital Pioneers Group (ACPG), the parent company of Aleta Planet. ACPG and DiMuto have worked together on a private financing deal involving the import of Vietnamese Basa fish into China.
Gary Loh, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DiMuto, said: “Aleta Planet plugs two gaps in the all- in-one platform DiMuto offers customers to help them trade better with visibility. These are the payment and settlement, and financing services that are critical in helping to grease the flow of perishable produce.
“DiMuto’s mission is to redefine global AgriFood trade and to that end, we will continue to deploy the latest fintech applications and work with partners who can value-add and help our customers with insightful trade data so they can see the full picture in the messy middle of the retail supply chain.”
DiMuto has to date handled over 12 million pieces of AgriFood products with a gross merchandise value of more than US$17 million from customers in over 10 different countries including China, the world’s second largest economy.
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About Aleta Planet
Founded in 2014 in Singapore, Aleta Planet is an award-winning global payments solution provider that simplifies online, cross-border and multi-currency transactions safely, securely and efficiently. They are a holistic payments technology provider of merchant acquisition, card issuance, remittance and B2B payments. As a global payment facilitator that interconnects different payment options and types, Aleta Planet specialises in helping Chinese companies to scale the global market. Aleta Planet is licensed in Singapore by the Monetary Authority of Singapore as a Major Payment Institution and in other jurisdictions, with offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Australia and Malaysia. Its secure and internationally certified proprietary platform connects businesses to the world’s payment infrastructure through one Application Programming Interface, enabling business growth, greater customer engagement and new revenue opportunities.
The success of its card network-agnostic platform has also garnered Aleta Planet its operating licenses from card networks including Diners Club, Discover Network, JCB, MasterCard, Union Pay International Visa, SWIFT and other Alternative Payment Methods. Furthermore, Aleta Planet’s broad network enables individuals and businesses to deposit local currencies in 39 countries or remit funds to 140 countries.
For more information, please visit: www.aletaplanet.com
About DiMuto
DiMuto is an AgriFood Trade Solutions that powers global AgriFood Trade with Visibility and Financing. With its three pillars of Marketplace, Trade Management, and Trade Financing, DiMuto simplifies every step of global trade – from produce, trade to market, DiMuto provides sales, marketing, operations, financing and insurance tools so agribusinesses can get the data visibility they need to trade better and grow greater.
With DiMuto’s ability to capture AgriFood trades, make them visible and monetize them on a single platform, we create a more efficient, transparent and measurable ecosystem of sustainable global AgriFood trade.
With Visible Trade, DiMuto powers companies and the world forward with confidence.
Since 2019, DiMuto has successfully tracked and traced over millions of pieces in produce and millions in dollars of trade value on our platform, working with a global portfolio of clients in over ten countries and five contientns. DiMuto is founded by Chief Executive Officer Gary Loh, who is also the Executive Chairman of First Alverstone Group.
For more information, please visit www.dimuto.io
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Media Contacts:
Catherine Ong Associates Catherine Ong [email protected] +65 9697 0007
The state of Agriculture is at a tipping point – in the face of increasing impact from climate change, we are starting to see more innovation that cuts across the supply chain as agriculture gains a brighter spotlight. Here are the key trends for the agriculture industry in the new year:
1. Sustainability remains on top of mind.
Sustainability continues to be a number one priority. More than just a buzzword of the moment, we have seen much action, research, and discussion on how to transform the global food system into one that is more sustainable. Thus far, a lot of attention has been focused on how to make the growing and farming of food more efficient – in terms of resource usage, yield output, nutritional value, and quality.
Renewed interest in regenerative farming, soil restoration and holistic food systems evaluation processes point at a growing ecological mindset adopted by the Agri industry. An offshoot on sustainable agriculture also includes breeding programmes for climate-resilient plant cultivars from food research institutions such as Plant & Food Research and VentureFruit.
Indoor Farming
The burgeoning USD$4.6 billion global vertical farming, a form of controlled environment agriculture, is considered highly efficient and sustainable method of food production. For instance, not only does it use around 250 times less water than a traditional farm, but it is also climate resilient due to its lack of reliance on natural weather.
2. Climate finance and green finance need to include food systems transformation.
Food systems are responsible for one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet only 3% of public finance is directed to food systems. Climate finance has been growing in recent years, with annual climate finance flows in 2019/20 seeing a 15% increase from the previous year and reaching an average of USD$653 Billion. Continuous support of fossil fuels that almost doubled in 2021, and a lack of the necessary speed and scale from private finance to fuel the transition to sustainable agriculture are also notable barriers in financing a sustainable food future. Thus, there remains huge untapped opportunities in the intersection between climate finance and agriculture.
3. Price and cost sensitivity remain in a challenging operating environment.
Despite a general increase in prices of agricultural products, the costs of inputs and supply chain requirements have risen to match as well. News of soaring freight costs have become a constant in this last year, and it affects the entire world – More than 80% of the world’s traded products are carried by sea. The produce industry has also been hit hard with unprecedented high freight costs, posing a challenge to an industry that typically depends on high volumes rather than high margins. It is likely that the general trade environment will remain challenging in the next few months, as the effects from the ongoing Ukraine war and the sudden opening up of China will be felt.
4. Data-driven Agriculture and Supply Chain is the next frontier of agriculture.
Data and connectivity of data will be crucial in minimizing the high levels of unpredictability in global food supply chains and help to create a more efficient food system overall.
Beyond smart farming, having visibility of their own internal operations as well as across their supply chain can enable growers, exporters, importers, wholesalers, and retailers to reduce food waste, create a more efficient demand-supply model, track sustainability goals. It is estimated that by 2030, enhanced connectivity could add more than USD$500 billion to global GDP and a critical productivity improvement of 7-9% for the industry.
Data connectivity
It is imperative to start rethinking the way the world produces and consumes our food. Food sustainability and climate finance need to solve problems of the global food system in a more holistic way, and a critical building block that cannot be ignored is data visibility.
Sustainability can be simply defined as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” How can AgriFood companies of today achieve this seemingly loft vision?
Across industries, companies are now dedicated to regularly measuring their sustainability performance through sustainability reporting. According to KPMG’s biennial Survey of Sustainability Reporting 2022, a whopping 96% of the world’s 250 largest companies have reported their sustainability or ESG (environmental, social, and governance) matters.
Despite such high sustainability reporting rates, it’s difficult to determine if companies are becoming inherently more sustainable. This is especially alarming given the increase in global carbon emissions to record highs of 415.7 parts per million in 2021, which is 149% of pre-industrial levels. This is because of the complexity of global supply chains, especially more so for larger companies that often rely on partners, vendors and suppliers around the world to fulfil products and services, making it difficult to match reported metrics to what’s actually happening on the ground.
The FAO estimates that 31%, or 16.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents, of greenhouse gas emissions comes from the Agrifood supply chain. With the AgriFood industry being one of the key contributors to global emissions yet one of the least digitized industries, we need to make sure sustainability reporting, when adopted by AgriFood companies, results in actual positive sustainability changes.
Image: Person holding compost bin
How can DiMuto help?
DiMuto offers a farm-to-fork solution that captures critical data points with our solutions, that can eliminate data silos to form an accurate picture of sustainability levels. Our blockchain-powered solution helps to ensure immutability, showing the who, what and when of data inputs and creating foundation of trust.
We help to record:
Farm Management Data Such as fertilizer, water, electricity usage
Production Management Data Such as raw materials used for packaging, utilities and more
Trade Management Data Such as carbon footprint from sea shipments and air shipments
Inspection Management Data Such as quality rejections, disposal levels and more
Image: L to R, DiMuto’s Sustainability Management Dashboard on Desktop, DiMuto’s Farm Management on Mobile Application, DiMuto’s Inspection Management on Mobile Application
For instance, the DiMuto Farm App records harvest and field data of smallholder farmers, connecting it to the packhouse production data and procurement data. This is especially important as 94% of agriculture workers are involved in the informal economy, according to the OECD.
Our solution also captures pre-shipment and post-shipment rejection data points to calculate real-time food waste level data, helping AgriFood companies to easily gain visibility on not just upstream but also downstream impacts, enabling more accurate Scope 1, 2 and 3
Image: Infographic of Scope 1, 2 and 3 Emissions
4 Key Metrics we help to measure and help AgriFood business owners to gain visibility on:
Monetary Costs Show opportunities to improve efficiency, sustainability, and long-term cost savings
Food Waste Highlight source of unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions and waste
Carbon Emissions Understand energy efficiency of their products’ carbon footprint
Water Usage See water footprint of their products and help ensure a resilient and safe water supply
These 4 key data types are then aggregated automatically on DiMuto’s Sustainability Management Dashboard. This dashboard helps Agrifood business owners to easily see the environmental impact of their operations and follow product lifecycles in real-time with useful metrics, which can be immediately generated into a report for it to be shared with relevant parties.
Image: Infographic of 4 Key Sustainability Metrics with statistics
AgriFood companies can now track and record accurate primary data, ensuring the reliability and efficiency of sustainability reporting of environmental metrics.
Capturing and analysing this data regularly and reliably empowers Agrifood business owners to identify opportunities for sustainable improvements, assess their progress, and determine new targets, helping to fuel a data-driven movement of food sustainability.
This is not to say that DiMuto is a magic bullet that can solve food sustainability, but working towards shedding light on real-live on the ground data through the supply chain, will help to build a more accurate picture on our sustainability progress, and allow us to work towards creating better standards of sustainability for the AgriFood industry.
If you are interested to learn more about how DiMuto helps improve sustainability of food systems for global AgriFood trade, reach us at [email protected].
Singapore, 26 July 2022 – DiMuto, a global trade solutions platform, partners with Aleta Planet, a Singapore-based FinTech provider of B2B cross-border payment solutions, to support digital payments in and out of China on the DiMuto Platform to strengthen its Trade Financing services.
The collaboration will leverage Aleta Planet’s UnionPay SME Commercial Account services, offering a new payment and remittance option for physical goods trade payments to China and 141 other countries, as well as the ability to execute Local Deposits from 42 countries through Payment Rails such as UnionPay, WeChat Pay, Visa, Mastercard, JC and Discover.
The partnership will add to the DiMuto Payment Management module, with AP’s China-centric payment gateway making cross-border payments more efficient and transparent. Trade-related payments and financial transactions made using DiMuto’s Payment Management will be tracked seamlessly on a single Platform.
“DiMuto is pleased to partner with Aleta Planet to provide a seamless and secure experience when making cross-border payments in and out of China. Our customers now enjoy greater flexibility and visibility with the addition of this payment gateway option to our Payment Management module,” said Gary Loh, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DiMuto. “Strengthening our ability to track trade payments will greatly open up opportunities for financing of trades on our platform.”
Cross-border trade finance is largely paper-based and vulnerable to fraud, due to the complex flow of transactions and multiple number of parties involved. This makes it challenging to ensure adequate oversight and prevent fraud and crime. The collapses of Hin Leong, Agritrade and Greensill has seen a tightening of credit facilities and a preference for financing larger players as part of a “flight to quality” trend, making it more difficult for small to medium traders and companies to get access to supply chain finance.
The DiMuto Payment Management allows financiers to gain visibility on payments made and received by the borrower companies for financed trades, on top of existing trade documents and product visibility enabled by the DiMuto Trade Management Platform. In addition to such visibility, the primary trade data and payment data collected on DiMuto Platform will be applied to DiMuto’s proprietary Trade Health AI model, to create objective and efficient trade health and credit scores. This actively reduces the risk of financing and enables offering of competitive rates for AgriFood SMEs that cannot rely on Letter of Credit for their trades and are unable to get traditional financing.
Building on a successful financing deal involving the import of Vietnamese Basa Fish into China, DiMuto will be working with Asia Capital Pioneers Group, the parent company of Aleta Planet, to accelerate its trade financing services.
“Asia Capital Pioneers Group’s partnership with DiMuto reflects our commitment to creating a digitalized trade finance ecosystem, where physical agricultural assets can now be tracked throughout the supply chain, to give greater assurance that these transactions meet the criteria set out in our
sustainability financing frameworks,” said, said Mr. Ryan Gwee, Chairman of Asia Capital Pioneers Group.
The financing partnership will drive forward the digital payments and financing aspect of DiMuto Trade Management Solutions, and the firm is expecting to finance more AgriFood companies that track their trade on the DiMuto Platform and is looking to raise funds to scale its financing solutions.
Mr Ryan Gwee (left), founder of Aleta Planet, and Mr Gary Loh, founder of DiMuto.ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
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About Aleta Planet
Founded in 2014 in Singapore by a team of professionals with strong business and technology expertise within the banking and finance industry, Aleta Planet is at the forefront of facilitating cross border payments to and from China. It specialises in end-to-end technology solutions for financial institutions and corporates. Aleta Planet provides payment services regulated under the Payment Services Act, governed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. It focuses on a client-specific, solutions-oriented approach and has successfully delivered leading-edge technology solutions.
Aleta Planet is also a direct acquirer and issuer of UnionPay International, offering cross-border, multi-currency transactions safely and securely. Being a Certified Principal Member of UnionPay International, Aleta Planet enables merchants to accept over 9 billion UnionPay cards issued globally. Additionally, Aleta Planet issues UnionPay commercial and retail cards. Aleta Planet also has presence in Hong Kong, Dubai, Australia and Malaysia and plans to expand to another five markets in next two years.
Aleta Planet is also WeChat Pay and PayNow enabled, a principal member of JCB and a global acquirer for Discover and Diners Club. With this comprehensive offering, Aleta Planet seeks to accelerate networks beyond China to the rest of the world.
Founded in 2011, Asia Capital Pioneers Group started as a Hong Kong-based family office to provide wealth management and legacy planning for some of Asia’s wealthiest families. It has developed a reputation of delivering above-market returns for its clients, through global investments within high growth industries such as real estate and fintech. As the controlling shareholder for several investments such as Songdo International Business District and payments fintech Aleta Planet, Asia Capital Pioneers Group has leveraged its management expertise, global connections, and business know-how to multiply the value of its investments. It also seeks to identify cross-synergies between its investment vehicles for greater efficiencies and business growth.
DiMuto provides agrifood companies with data they can see and trust, down to every single product of every trade, where they can easily see all that is happening for every trade transaction in an organized manner, on one single platform.
DiMuto simplifies every step of global trade – from produce, trade to market, DiMuto provide sales, marketing, operations, financing and insurance tools so businesses can trade better.
Equipped with a data-backed growth roadmap, companies can now navigate the complex global trade landscape with ease and focus on what matters – growing a thriving international business.
With Visible Trade, DiMuto powers companies and the world forward with confidence.
Since 2019, DiMuto has successfully tracked and traced over millions of pieces in produce and millions in dollars of trade value on our platform, working with a global portfolio of clients in over ten countries and five continents. DiMuto is founded by Chief Executive Officer Mr Gary Loh, who is also the Executive Chairman of First Alverstone Group.
SunMoon Food Company Limited is a consumer-focused distributor and marketer of branded high-quality fruits, vegetables and products.
SunMoon collaborates with a global network of suppliers to provide creative, natural, sustainable, and nutrient-dense foods for today’s health-conscious customers. They have implemented improved global procurement strategies, and manage a carefully controlled certified supplier program. Fruits from certified plantations are selected according to the ‘SunMoon Quality Assurance’ standard.
Building Consumer Trust
With a promise to provide the best quality fruit from around the world, SunMoon wanted to find a way to verify and convey their quality assurance standards to their consumers.
DiMuto’s AgriFood Trade Solutions provided a cost-effective way to communicate supply chain traceability information in an engaging way. In particular, SunMoon Indonesia utilised DiMuto’s SMART Marketing feature to share traceability information on their Fuji Apples and run campaigns that engaged SunMoon Indonesia’s end consumers.
The Asian Consumer Perspective: Growing Demand for Safe & Traceable Foods
More than 40% of Asian consumers care about where their food comes from and regularly source-check, according to a survey done by PwC, Rabobank, and Temasek. Furthermore, 51% of Indonesian consumers regularly check the source of their foods, according to the Asia Food Challenge
Consumers across Asia are demanding stronger reassurance that food is safe and are loyal to trusted brands. Some consumers are also willing to pay a “trust” premium for these food brands. Thus, there is growing pressure on food brands to be able to leverage technology for safe and traceable food solutions in order to build trust and credibility with consumers.
Utilising DiMuto SMART Marketing
DiMuto SMART Marketing gives marketing teams the ability to seamlessly communicate traceability data that has been recorded by their operational team and display it to their consumers in the form of a Product Passport.
The Product Passport is able to showcase selected Product Certificates that have been uploaded on the blockchain, as well as critical supply chain stages such as Farming, Packing, Shipping and Receiving stages. This helps produce brands to showcase product provenance and build consumer trust.
With DiMuto SMART Marketing, SunMoon can meaningfully execute brand marketing campaigns, host promotions and lucky draws, and collect product-specific feedback from their end consumers.
Consumer feedback helps SunMoon to better understand their customers and improve their products. This valuable information is crucial in allowing SunMoon to close the loop, ensuring that they deliver the high product quality they promise to.
Introducing DiMuto’s Solutions
Secure Blockchain for Food Traceability
The DiMuto Platform automatically records each transaction onto the blockchain. Trade Information recorded by different SunMoon departments are secured with a blockchain hash to ensure transparency and immutability.
Read more of our Real-Life Case Study about How Farm to Table SMART Marketing Enhances The Brand Identity of a Fresh Produce Company in Indonesia here:
If you are interested to learn more about how DiMuto helps Agri-Food businesses leverage on blockchain traceability to create consumer engagement, please reach us here or drop us an email at [email protected].
Singapore, 12 July 2022 – DiMuto, a global AgriFood Trade Solutions company, announced today the launch of its B2B e-commerce marketplace that connects traceable AgriFood suppliers, growers and exporters to importers, wholesalers, and retailers. The multi-vendor marketplace creates a convenient, one-stop destination for the sale and procurement of AgriFood products.
The current AgriFood perishables industry is historically unorganized with an inefficient matching of demand to supply. DiMuto Marketplace enables AgriFood players to easily tap into a global commerce ecosystem of fresh and frozen fresh produce, livestock, meat and seafood products, regardless of their geographical location, and complete the ordering process digitally.
Once a buyer and seller links up and an order is placed on the DiMuto Marketplace, the trade is then tracked directly on DiMuto’s Trade Management Platform, where every carton of product is digitized, tracked, and unified with critical trade documents and payment information. This seamless connection between creating the sales and managing the order removes the organizational silos between buyers and sellers, as well as internally within the sales, procurement, shipping and finance departments.
Every action taken to move the trade towards completion will be seamlessly tracked and viewable via a Trade Timeline, so suppliers are able to effectively share necessary information to buyers such as bills of lading, certificates of origin, phytosanitary certificates and more. Buyers are also given a peace of mind when they can see product quality right from the farm and packhouse that is verified by DiMuto’s AI-powered Product Quality Score, while being able to share timely data on product arrival quality with a complementary Goods Receiver App.
In addition, companies can now know real, quantified metrics when it comes to the sustainability of their supply chain, down to the individual farmers that grew the food, and water and carbon footprint and view key metrices on the DiMuto Sustainability Dashboard.
“The DiMuto Marketplace is an exciting value proposition because it not only saves valuable resources on prospecting, it also allows companies to really measure and ensure the sustainability of their food supply chains by connecting to our Trade Management Solutions. We believe that with the ecosystem it brings to the table, the marketplace tool will certainly add tremendous value to our customers and the industry and pave the way to a future of digital AgriFood trade,” said Julie Escobar, Chief Commercial Officer of DiMuto.
The launch of DiMuto Marketplace is one of the three engines behind the Agri-Fintech company’s vision to power global AgriFood trade with visibility and finance. The company aims to scale its Marketplace, Trade Management and Financial Services pillars to grow and power its AgriFood Trade ecosystem of traceable and sustainable growers-exports, traders and retailers in the coming months.
“We are pleased to launch the DiMuto Marketplace. The Marketplace allows DiMuto to capture the trade, and connect it to our Trade Management Solutions that make these trades visible, which can then be financed through our Financial Services. With these three gears removing all the friction in global trade, DiMuto truly powers the AgriFood Trade with visibility and finance,” said Gary Loh, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DiMuto.
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About DiMuto
DiMuto provides AgriFood companies with data they can see and trust, down to every single product of every trade, where they can easily see all that is happening for every trade transaction in an organized manner, on one single platform.
DiMuto simplifies every step of global trade – from produce, trade to market, DiMuto provide sales, marketing, operations, financing and insurance tools so businesses can trade better.
Equipped with a data-backed growth roadmap, companies can now navigate the complex global trade landscape with ease and focus on what matters – growing a thriving international business.
With Visible Trade, DiMuto powers companies and the world forward with confidence.
Since 2019, DiMuto has successfully tracked and traced over millions of pieces in produce and millions in dollars of trade value on our platform, working with a global portfolio of clients in over ten countries and five continents. DiMuto is founded by Chief Executive Officer Mr Gary Loh, who is also the Executive Chairman of First Alverstone Group. For more information, please visit www.dimuto.io.
[PRESS RELEASE]
DiMuto, a global AgriFood Trade Solutions company, announced the appointment of Patrick Vizzone to its Board of Directors.
Patrick Vizzone brings over three decades of corporate and investment banking experience in food, agribusiness, and Asian markets. He is currently the managing director and head of Agri-Food for the Asia-Pacific alternatives group at Franklin Templeton. Previously, he was the international head of Food, Beverage & Agribusiness and Head of Hong Kong Coverage at the ANZ Banking Group. Prior to that, he was Asian head of institutional banking and head of food and agribusiness at National Australia Bank. Patrick has also served for over a decade as an Independent Non-Executive Director of China Agri-Industries, the Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of China’s COFCO Group, In addition, he is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Fresh Produce Association, where he sits on the Executive Committee as Secretary-Treasurer.
Gary Loh, Founder, and CEO of DiMuto commented, “We are pleased to welcome Patrick to the DiMuto Board. Patrick’s wealth of knowledge and experience in the Agribusiness and banking industry, particularly in Asia, will enhance DiMuto’s board and help shape the company’s future. We look forward to having his valuable perspective on our board.”
“I am delighted to join DiMuto’s Board of Directors. I believe there are significant opportunities to create value, and I am eager to collaborate with the team and my fellow Directors to guide the company’s strategy for long-term success,” said Patrick Vizzone, Board Member of DiMuto.
Patrick Vizzone joins existing board members including Gary Loh, Claire Pribula, Managing Director of The Yield Lab Asia Pacific, and Ryan Gwee, Managing Director of Asia Capital Pioneers Group and Chairman of Aleta Planet.
Patrick Vizzone, Board Member of DiMuto
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About DiMuto
DiMuto provides agrifood companies with data they can see and trust, down to every single product of every trade, where they can easily see all that is happening for every trade transaction in an organized manner, on one single platform.
DiMuto simplifies every step of global trade – from produce, trade to market, DiMuto provides sales, marketing, operations, financing, and insurance tools so businesses can trade better.
Equipped with a data-backed growth roadmap, companies can now navigate the complex global trade landscape with ease and focus on what matters – growing a thriving international business.
With Visible Trade, DiMuto powers companies and the world forward with confidence.
Since 2019, DiMuto has successfully tracked and traced over millions of pieces in produce and millions in dollars of trade value on our platform, working with a global portfolio of clients in over ten countries and five continents. DiMuto is founded by Chief Executive Officer Mr Gary Loh, who is also the Executive Chairman of First Alverstone Group. For more information, please visit www.dimuto.io.
The need for investments in sustainable food systems is highly critical. With the world’s population estimated to rise to 9.8 billion by 2050, there will be greater stress on our current food systems. Additionally, the impacts of climate change bring additional threats to agriculture. A warming climate could cut crop yields by more than 25 percent, while the extreme weather events associated with climate change can have devastating effects on farmers, their land, and crop.
Who are the smallholder farmers?
Smallholder farmers are individuals who grow commercial crops or livestock on less than 2 hectares of arable land. Smallholder farmers can also have numerous landholdings in different nations, but their overall landholdings must be under 2 hectares.
The role of smallholder farmers in sustainable food system
Smallholder farmers can be at the vanguard of global efforts to protect and regenerate nature with the correct support. Empowering smallholders to employ sustainable and regenerative farming practices would allow them to replenish the land for current and future generations while increasing yields and creating agriculture resilience, generating prosperity for farmers and their families and positive effects on the environment.
In Brazil, for instance, a report by the Stockholm Environment Institute found that ‘between 2004 and 2011, landowners with more than 500 hectares (1,235 acres) of property were responsible for about 48% of the deforestation. Areas owned by smallholders accounted for 12% of the forests destroyed during the same period. However, since 2005, the contribution to annual deforestation by the largest landowners has fallen by 63%, while that of smallholders has increased by 69%.’ Smallholder farms are crucial in determining whether a sustainable food system can be achieved
Challenges Faced by Smallholder Farmers for Profitability
Few smallholder farmers have access to formal training, sophisticated farm supplies and equipment, and financial capabilities to increase soil health and production. Many smallholders also lack official paperwork proving ownership of their property, limiting their options for growing what, when, and how. As such, long-term, sustainable farming practices are rarely prioritized.
Smallholders are also hampered by systemic concerns such as gender inequity, health issues, and lack of sanitation. As a result, there are significant obstacles and potential in assisting smallholder farmers in adopting regenerative agricultural principles.
Furthermore, many of these variables have limited the contribution of smallholder farmers to urban consumers. As a result, it is evident that a sustainable food system must be supported by policies that allow smallholder farmers to realize their full potential while managing with externalities and limits.
If smallholder farmers are to play an essential part in a sustainable food system as sustainable food producers and food security providers, they will need to be equipped with training, equipment and financing that rewards them for sustainable farming practices. The challenge would then be to ensure that monitor and ensure help is provided to truly sustainable farmers.
How can Smallholder Farmers Benefit from Data Visibility?
According to Emergen Research, the worldwide food traceability market size reached $4.54 billion in 2020 and is predicted to reach $9.75 billion by 2028.
Rising demand for food traceability systems to identify mandatory paperwork and tracking for each stage of food processing is predicted to drive this revenue increase. Increased need for critical technologies in the agri-food sector is a very useful tool for analysing, monitoring, and regulating product flow. By digitalizing farm data and visibility, smallholder farmers can organize and improve their farm for higher profit margins and sustainable growth.
Additionally, as the demand for food traceability technology has been on the rise for both eco-conscious end-consumers and food businesses alike, visibility on the smallholder farmers actions on their farm fields would be key to be able to track provenance of food products.
How DiMuto Helps Smallholder Farmer with Sustainability and Visibility
L to R: Farm profile, Farm Lot Input Information, Farm Wallet
The DiMuto Farm Management application connects growing, harvesting, selling and payments for better visibility of farm operations with its three functions – Grow, Sell and Services. Using the DiMuto Farm Management Application, smallholder farmers can easily set up their digital identity on the Farm Management mobile application and connect their operations to their buyers such as procurement teams and agronomists from larger traders and packhouses within minutes. Through an intuitive interface, farmers can simplify farm administration, storing and accessing digitalized farm records, transport, and sales information easily. Additionally, they can also obtain yield estimates, track production, and get timely reminders to manage their field.
With DiMuto Farm Management app, smallholder farmers can now:
Simplify farm administration and easily track all farm-related records all in one place, and access it at anytime, anyplace
Connect growing, harvesting, selling and payments for better visibility of their farm operations
Get better prices, market position and premium buyers with produce that’s traceable straight from the farm
Gain better visibility of planning and yield estimates, track production and identify trends and potential problems
Such farm data is then automatically populated to an aggregated web dashboard for agronomists and procurement team to track the farm and estimated harvests, giving more accuracy to supply planning. The Farm Management also seamlessly connects to Production Management and Trade Management features of the DiMuto Platform, allowing AgriFood companies to track the source of their AgriFood products and raw materials, down to the farm and lot that they originated from. As an added layer of verification, all supply chain data recorded on DiMuto Platform is also uploaded on the blockchain, ensuring immutability and trust.
With increasing demands from consumers and governments for sustainable sourcing, this down reaching level of supply chain visibility will help AgriFood companies track and verify key sustainability metrics. For instance, AgriFood procurement teams are now able to track measures such as the farmer that grew the food, the number of approved fertilizers, and water being used for the products that they purchased – enabling them to work more closely with farmers on the ground to ensure sustainability practices. This is particularly important for companies to achieve supply chain sustainability, given that a McKinsey report has shown that 80 of large multi-national companies (MNCs)’ impact on air, land, water, biodiversity and geological resources comes not from internal operations but from its supply chain, and most MNCs are struggling to accurately and efficiently assess supplier activities.
Research estimates that 70% of smallholder farmers in global Agri supply chains live below the global poverty line of $3.20 a day, amounting to over 122 million people. This is despite the fact that smallholder farmers producing a third of the world’s food.
The DiMuto Farm Management application also has a Digital Wallet function that helps farmers to track, receive and access digital payments. The payment rails will help DiMuto to execute smallholder farmer financing and insurance opportunities, allowing loans and payments to be directly deployed and rightfully received. The Digital Wallet is also connected to the Trade Management and the Grow aspect of the app, creating the ability to verify purpose and usage of the loans and ensuring that funds can be used for improved resiliency and sustainability of these smallholder famers.
If you are interested to learn more about how DiMuto helps improve sustainability of food systems for global AgriFood trade, reach us at [email protected].
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