Vanilla producers on the tropical island of Madagascar say a cyclone that killed 78 people has also damaged around 30 percent of the crop in the world‘s biggest producer.Previously:
The valuable beans are often kept under armed guard after prices shot up from around $20 a kg in 2010 to around $500 a kg last year.
The flavouring is used in products from ice cream to coffee.
Madagascar produces nearly half the world‘s crop, according the U.N. Food and Agriculture Administration. In 2015, Madagascar was estimated to have produced 3,914 tonnes out of a global total of 8,294 tonnes, projected U.N. data showed. No more recent data was available because of the lag in harvesting time....MORE
June 2019
Commodities: Vanilla Fever
A topic of abiding interest.
From The Economist's 1843 magazine, June/July 2019:
How did hunger for the humble vanilla pod lead to greed, crime and riches? Wendell Steavenson travels to Madagascar to meet the new spice barons...
Sept 2018
Getting In Front Of Madagascar's Vanilla Boom
June 2018
"Why One Island Grows 80% of the World’s Vanilla"
May 2017
So, How Will You Deal With The Great Vanilla Shortage of '17?
