Blockchain for trustworthy provenances: A case study in the Australian aquaculture industry

Abstract

We explore the potential for a blockchain ledger to record supply chain provenances in an inherently trustworthy manner. The use of blockchain in this setting may allow for traceability of products through the supply chain without fear that an item’s provenance is fraudulent or has been tampered with. We compare the desirable properties of a blockchain ledger to those of a traditional database. We also consider challenges to the trustworthiness of a provenance idiosyncratic to the context of supply chains. We present a case study in which we conduct a series of semi-structured interviews with members of the prawn aquaculture industry in Australia. This industry was chosen as it stands to gain from robust provenances due to international competition. We find that blockchain based technology is unlikely to deliver substantial gains to the industry when compared to alternatives. Rather, most gains are likely to arise from the industry becoming digitalized, which would be a precondition for any blockchain technology to be operational.