3 Reasons Why Madagascan Vanilla So Costly

1. 3 Reasons Why Madagascan Vanilla So Costly? Vanilla was used as a seasoning for a long time by the inhabitants of Mexico, the orchid's native place. Even then, it was so rare and hard to find that it was used as imperial tribute. When the plant was introduced to Europe, it took years for them to find a way to pollinate the flowers and have vanilla pods. But thankfully, it spread to other parts of the world, especially to French colonies where it is still grown. Madagascan vanilla from the African island nation of Madagascar is one of the best vanilla that is presently found in the market. If you have been a long-time baker and food enthusiast, you will know that the price of vanilla, especially from the island of Madagascar has risen significantly in the last few years. It has impacted the bottom line of many companies and businesses that use vanilla beans to make products. But what is the reason for that? Well, some of the reasons are how the plant reproduces and some are how bad our global weather has been in the last few years. So, let’s take a look at some

2. of these that make Madagascan vanilla beans the second costliest spice in the world. The first reason is how the plant grows. Vanilla vines take about 2 to 4 years to mature and have to be meticulously cared for during the growth period. They need to be grown in shades away from direct sunlight and hence many plantations grow it along with banana trees, tropical trees, or coconut trees. Once the plant reaches maturity, it needs to be moved to a sunny area as the flowering starts under thermal heat. Now comes the most difficult part, pollinating the flower once it blooms. Two reasons make it difficult; one the flower blooms for just one day, and two, the natural pollinator for vanilla is found only in Mexico. Hence vanilla needs to be hand pollinated in the quickest time possible. The second reason is due to climate. In recent years, Madagascar and adjoining areas have seen a rise in cyclones and other such natural disasters. One such cyclone Enawo devasted the Madagascan vanilla bean fields in 2017. The farmers there had to start from scratch, which led to a huge rise in the price of vanilla all over the world. This is going to continue to rise as the new plants were only ready in 2020, and the pandemic happened. Though it is nearly 7 years since the cyclone, the market has not stabilized that much so the price of vanilla is still higher than it was 10 years ago. The third reason is economic. After the successful creation of synthetic vanilla in the 1980s, the demand for vanilla from vanilla plants started to decrease. As a result, farmers who had been doing it for generations saw little to no prosperity in the business. Many plantations were shut down, and the skills needed to hand- pollinate vanilla and dry vanilla pods slowly started to be shared less. It was only around 2011 when the demand for original vanilla started to rise again. The demand for organic, natural vanilla led some but not all farmers back to fields but just as they were rising to the demand, cyclones like the one mentioned before happened. The cost of running a vanilla plantation is also high as most jobs can only be done manually and that too by experts. All this makes vanilla cultivation quite costly, which in turn pushes the price up.

3. So, these are three important reasons why your Madagascan vanilla beans cost that much. After all, vanilla is the second costliest spice in the world! To explore more visit: www.neugininaturals.co.uk