Brazilian exporters are facing growing pressure to provide detailed evidence about the origin and production of goods destined for European markets, as new regulations require companies to maintain more comprehensive supply-chain records.
Guilherme Pereira, ecosystem growth specialist for Latin America at the Cardano Foundation, identified the European Union Deforestation Regulation, or EUDR, as one of the most complex requirements confronting Brazilian exporters. Under the regulation, companies outside the EU must identify the specific land plot where covered products were produced and provide precise geographic coordinates to demonstrate that the area has not been linked to prohibited deforestation since 2020.
The regulation took effect for large and medium-sized companies on Dec. 30, 2026, following two delays, while micro and small businesses received an additional six-month period. Brazilian industries including soy, beef, coffee and timber face particular exposure because of their links to land use and agricultural supply chains.
Additional requirements under EU sustainability reporting rules and digital product passport initiatives are increasing the amount of supplier-level information companies must collect and maintain.
Blockforce and the Cardano Foundation have launched a blockchain-based system that allows supply-chain records to remain private while placing cryptographic proof of those records on the public Cardano blockchain for verification by auditors, customers and regulators.
Private Data, Public Verification
The system uses a permissioned Hyperledger Fabric network to store sensitive information such as supplier identities, contracts, pricing, and production records. Rather than publishing the underlying commercial information, the platform places a cryptographic fingerprint of each record on Cardano.
This structure allows authorized parties to verify whether a record remains authentic without exposing confidential supplier relationships or contractual information to competitors. According to the report, more than 500,000 supply-chain records have already been processed through the system.
Blockforce chief executive André Salem said the approach was developed to address the challenge of proving supply-chain information without revealing sensitive commercial data. The architecture separates confidential records from their publicly verifiable proofs, allowing businesses to maintain privacy while improving auditability.
The platform is already being used by AZZAS 2154, described in the report as Latin America’s largest fashion group, to trace its leather supply chain.
AI Helps Small Suppliers Participate
The system is designed to reduce the technological burden on smaller suppliers. Instead of requiring them to adopt unfamiliar software, the platform can process information they already generate, including electronic invoices and government records.
Artificial intelligence converts those documents into structured information that can be used for compliance and auditing. The system has connected more than 6,200 suppliers and processed over 95,000 invoices into compliance-ready records.
The platform also supports ERP integrations, document uploads, and a WhatsApp-based AI agent, allowing suppliers with limited digital infrastructure to submit information through a familiar communication channel.
New case study: how Blockforce anchored proof of 500,000 supply chain certificates on Cardano. 🔒
Supplier data stays on a permissioned Hyperledger Fabric network. Only the proof goes public, up to 44 certificates per transaction.
Read it here: https://t.co/C2yv1vzUJw
— Cardano Foundation (@Cardano_CF) September 7, 2026
The blockchain architecture also supports batched anchoring on Cardano, with as many as 44 certificates grouped into a single transaction. The design is intended to improve the efficiency of recording large volumes of certification data while maintaining a verifiable audit trail.
Trade Diversification Adds Urgency
The traceability push comes as Brazil seeks to expand trade beyond the US and increase access to other major markets. The report indicates that Brazilian exporters have redirected portions of their trade toward China and Asia, while shipments to China, India and the EU have continued to increase.
The EU-Mercosur agreement, provisionally implemented in May 2026, is also expected to affect the trading environment. The agreement reduces tariffs across much of the trade between the two blocs, increasing the importance of meeting European market-entry requirements.
AZZAS 2154 is using the platform to combine fiscal documents, supplier information and public databases into a single record for each product. The company plans to achieve complete leather traceability across its brands by 2030.
Contracts signed so far cover 6.5 million certification records through 2030, with the platform expected to expand into automotive, agribusiness, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
The broader objective is to help smaller suppliers remain connected to EU-facing supply chains as requirements surrounding origin, deforestation and labor standards become more stringent. By combining private supply-chain management with publicly verifiable blockchain evidence, the initiative could provide exporters with a scalable framework for meeting increasingly demanding international compliance standards.
