Huge storm in Madagascar wipes out nearly a third of its vanilla crop
Madagascar accounts for more than three-quarters of global vanilla supply, and prices have doubled in a little more than a year to more than $500/kg
Johannesburg/Antananarivo — The worst tropical cyclone in 13 years to strike Madagascar may push up already record prices for vanilla beans that are used to flavour everything from cafe lattes to ice cream. The storm that killed at least 78 people in the Indian Ocean island nation last week may have damaged as much as 30% of the crop, according to David van der Walde, director at Aust & Hachmann Canada, the world’s oldest vanilla company. The vanilla market, worth about $1.3bn a year at current prices, was already tight after output slipped and quality suffered over the past two years in Madagascar, which accounts for more than three-quarters of global supply. Prices have doubled in a little over a year to more than $500 a kilogram. "It’s most likely going to increase prices," said Craig Nielsen, CEO at US-based Nielsen-Massey Vanillas, a top-five US supplier. "How much they increase and for how long is still yet to be determined." Demand for pure, natural vanilla has been growing a...
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