Vanilla

A labor intensive spice crop whose price swings with Madagascar harvests.

Overview

Vanilla comes from the cured pods of an orchid that must be hand pollinated flower by flower outside its native Mexico, and Madagascar grows the large majority of world supply, centered on the Sava region. Curing takes months of sweating and drying, and the crop is vulnerable to cyclones and theft, so farmers often pick green beans early. After Cyclone Enawo in 2017 prices for cured beans soared above silver by weight, then fell back as supply recovered and food makers leaned more on synthetic vanillin, which supplies most vanilla flavor. There is no futures market, so prices are set in spot deals, and Madagascar has experimented with minimum export prices.