Sustainable platform-supported raw material management for the bioeconomy
A digital commodities exchange can make a fundamental contribution to this by bringing producers and buyers together in the sense of direct marketing via a digital platform. Faster and more flexible access to product-related market information, such as quality and prices through up-to-the-minute offers, promotes the creation of value networks and raises awareness of the many possible uses of sustainable raw materials and residues.
Conventional raw materials nowadays are traded on so-called commodity exchanges and are therefore the target of international speculation. International institutional investors buy options and / or futures on commodities, distorting supply and demand, resulting in price distortions. A sustainable economic system, also in agriculture, is an important area of the bioeconomy strategy of the Federal Government and the Free State of Bavaria. What is missing so far is an efficient link between cultivation (primary production) and recovery (production of products), ie a way to bring together producers (farmers) and recyclers / processors from all parts of the industry on a single platform and a competitive price to negotiate according to the supply-demand principle. This shortcoming is best solved on the basis of a digital commodities exchange based on the latest IT technologies and designed specifically for sustainable commodities. Such "unconventional" bio-based raw materials either only occur at irregular intervals or perhaps in too small quantities or else they are not in such high demand and are only of importance to certain manufacturers. These factors make it difficult to sell such raw materials, which in many cases has economic disadvantages for both growers and recyclers.
The aim of the present project is therefore to develop an exchange for sustainable raw materials, residues and waste materials, which uses innovative IT tools to bring producers and processors of sustainable commodities and residues quickly and easily together. The search for raw materials, buying and selling is done via a digital platform for the PC, the tablet or the smartphone. Through the use of digital technologies, prices can be displayed on a daily basis. The mapping of price developments (charts) facilitates the planning. The digital commodity exchange for sustainable raw materials bundles economic and ecological interests and is a trading platform based on stock exchange trading, which promotes sustainable agriculture, food and forestry.
Bavarian Ministry of Nutrition, Agriculture and Forestry (STMELF), Research grant number: G2/KS/17/04
01.04.2018 - 31.03.2021
