0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
PHOTOS: Vanilla Boom Is Making People Crazy Rich — And Jittery — In MadagascarSeptember 15, 20197:00 AM ETWendell SteavensonWorkers sort through bundles of vanilla at the Virginia Dare warehouse in Antsirabe Nord, Madagascar. When this photo was taken last year, the warehouse contained roughly $5 million worth of vanilla.Tommy Trenchard 80% of the world's vanilla is grown by small holding farmers in the hilly forests of Madagascar. For a generation the price languished below $50 a kilo (about 2.2 pounds) but in 2015 it began to rise at an extraordinary rate and for the past four years has hovered at ten times that amount, between $400 and $600 a kilo.The rise is partly due to increased global demand, partly due to decreased supply, as storms have destroyed many vines, and a lot to do with speculation. Local middle men have rushed into the market, leveraging deals between village growers and the international flavor companies that distill the cured beans into extract and sell it to the big multinationals like Mars, Archer Daniels Midland and Unilever....Because vanilla is so valuable, vanilla workers undergo a full search as they leave the warehouse for their lunch break.Tommy Trenchard An aerial view of the village of Belambo, which lies at the heart of the vanilla-producing region in northern Madagascar.Tommy Trenchard Read more at: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/09/15/757899271/photos-vanilla-boom-is-making-people-crazy-rich-and-jittery-in-madagascar
