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MNeagle
9th July 2010, 12:36 PM
Sambava, Madagascar -- The world's largest vanilla industry is feared to be on the verge of collapse as farmers struggle to earn a living.

Madagascar, renowned for its high quality vanilla, is the world's leading exporter of the spice, accounting for half of global production.

But abysmal wages, sharp competition from markets in Asia and the growing popularity of synthetically produced alternatives means Madagascan farmers are abandoning their crops.

According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), most vanilla production is concentrated in the north-east of the island, where about 70 percent of the population depends on the spice to earn a living.

Jean Bruno is one such farmer and earns little over $1.50 a day.

He told CNN: "Yes, it is difficult to grow, to tend it day after day. But the worst part is the price, it's miserable."

Economist Michel Manceau, who is currently collecting information on Madagascar's vanilla crops, agrees. He believes with prices so low, many farmers will stop growing the crop altogether.

"The game is to press the price down as strongly as possible to those people, who today are making a dollar a day family income, if they are only in vanilla," he said.

"A dollar a day. That's the limit that has been reached in the last two or three years and most of them are quitting vanilla," he continued.

Vanilla is a volatile commodity, and the past decade has seen prices fluctuate widely. According to the IFAD, in 2003 a single kilo of vanilla could cost you up to $500. Today the price hovers around the $25 to $30 mark, barely enough for farmers to survive.

Ironically, it was vanilla's inflated prices in 2003, when farmers profited the most from the sweet-smelling spice, which have spelt disaster for Madagascar's vanilla industry.

The price surge was the result of a devastating cyclone in 2000, which destroyed vast acres of crops. With the bean in short supply, prices soared and major importers turned to synthetically produced alternatives, the IFAD said.

Winning back these importers has been difficult, with many companies looking to avoided future pitfalls in such a volatile market.

Recovery has been made even harder by competition from countries such as Indonesia, India and Uganda, who entered the market after the 2003 price hike.

It's a dismal situation for a country renowned for making some of the world's best vanilla. Although the Madagascan crop is one of the most labor-intensive in the world, it is highly prized due to its high vanillin content, which gives the vanilla its flavor.

The vanilla bean was introduced to Madagascar during the 19th century. With no local bees to pollinate the crop each flower must be pollinated by hand in order to produce the prized vanilla beans.

It's a timely process, which is compounded by the fact that each flower only lasts one day, meaning growers have to inspect and pollinate their plantations every day.

The European Development Research Network estimates farmers needs to spend 260 days per hectare during the first year and about 460 days during the next four to eight years in order to maintain a vanilla crop.

It's a huge amount of time, especially considering a rice harvest requires an average of 120 man hours per year. As a result, many vanilla farmers say they no longer reap the rewards of their hard labor.

Claude Andreas, the president of the Madagascar Vanilla Growers' Association summed up the situation simply, telling CNN: "At less than $25 a kilo, the price is too low. If it goes below that the farmers will just stop growing it. They can't make ends meet."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/07/09/madagascar.vanilla.industry/index.html?hpt=Sbin

cedarchopper
9th July 2010, 03:04 PM
Vanilla comes from orchids grown in Veracruz, Mexico, up in the mountains. When I first passed through the little town famous for vanilla in Veracruz, I wanted to buy some pure vanilla. All the local kept trying to sell me a liquor that they said was the real thing...they even had bars around town that sold it by the drink. I was thick headed, I didn't understand that 'pure vanilla' was the vanilla beans soaked in alcohol for an extended period of time (months to years)...I thought vanilla extract was how vanilla was supposed to be...that was a long time ago ;] Now, I make my own 'pure vanilla' from beans I soak in Vodka...the beans can be used over and over for long time.

"Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla native to Mexico. Etymologically, vanilla derives from the Spanish word "vainilla", little pod.[1] Originally cultivated by Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican peoples, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés is credited with introducing both vanilla and chocolate to Europe in the 1520s.[2] Attempts to cultivate the vanilla plant outside Mexico and Central America proved futile because of the symbiotic relationship between the tlilxochitl vine that produced the vanilla orchid and the local species of Melipona bee; it was not until 1837 that Belgian botanist Charles François Antoine Morren discovered this fact and pioneered a method of artificially pollinating the plant. The method proved financially unworkable and was not deployed commercially.[3] In 1841, a 12-year-old French-owned slave by the name of Edmond Albius, who lived on Île Bourbon, discovered the plant could be hand pollinated, allowing global cultivation of the plant.[4]

There are currently three major cultivars of vanilla grown globally, all derived from a species originally found in Mesoamerica, including parts of modern day Mexico.[5] The various subspecies are Vanilla planifolia (syn. V. fragrans), grown on Madagascar, Réunion and other tropical areas along the Indian Ocean; V. tahitensis, grown in the South Pacific; and V. pompona, found in the West Indies, Central and South America.[6] The majority of the world's vanilla is the V. planifolia variety, more commonly known as "Madagascar-Bourbon" vanilla, which is produced in a small region of Madagascar and in Indonesia.[7][8]

Vanilla is the second most expensive spice after saffron,[citation needed] due to the extensive labor required to grow the vanilla seed pods. Despite the expense, it is highly valued for its flavor, which author Frederic Rosengarten, Jr. described in The Book of Spices as "pure, spicy, and delicate" and its complex floral aroma depicted as a "peculiar bouquet."[9] Despite its high cost, vanilla is widely used in both commercial and domestic baking, perfume manufacture and aromatherapy.[9]"

MNeagle
9th July 2010, 03:09 PM
I've got some big bottles of Mexican dark vanilla, will want to get more now!!

StackerKen
9th July 2010, 03:44 PM
We buy it in big bottles at Costco. (heck of a lot cheaper that way)

My wife likes it in her coffee every morning

Saul Mine
9th July 2010, 06:24 PM
I would not touch vanilla from Mexico. It is always contaminated with cumarin, a pesticide that tastes exactly like vanilla but better, and about three times as strong as vanilla. The FDA tried for years to get the Mexicans to send pure vanilla, and finally gave up and banned imports.

MNeagle
9th July 2010, 06:40 PM
What I have is not an import, my Dad buys it there in Mexico & brings it back.

SLV^GLD
9th July 2010, 06:41 PM
Holy crap, Saul Mine, I have stores of Mexican vanilla. I effing love the stuff and swear by it. It is generally 20 proof or so. If what you say is true then I am storing and eating pesticide. I have seen Madagascar beans for sale at specialty shops and the price is absolutely astounding, IIRC around $20-$30 for a couple 8" or so beans (unsure of the $/weight ratio). I always assumed Madagascar had some favorable environment that made a premium bean but that Mexico had a comparable bean with much lower import costs so the Mexican variety was the economical choice.

This is is terrible news and I thanked you for it.

StackerKen
9th July 2010, 07:45 PM
The "Kirkland" brand we get from Costco say's it is a product of the USA

70 proof! :o lol

Saul Mine
9th July 2010, 11:57 PM
What I have is not an import, my Dad buys it there in Mexico & brings it back.


But it's still from Mexico, isn't it? You can google "cumarin" and "vainilla" (with an extra 'i') and read the story for yourself.

SQUEXX
10th July 2010, 06:35 PM
We buy it in big bottles at Costco. (heck of a lot cheaper that way)

My wife likes it in her coffee every morning


Sounds like a good way to "Irish up" your coffee! ;)

Saul Mine
11th July 2010, 09:38 AM
Holy crap, Saul Mine, I have stores of Mexican vanilla. I effing love the stuff and swear by it. It is generally 20 proof or so. If what you say is true then I am storing and eating pesticide. I have seen Madagascar beans for sale at specialty shops and the price is absolutely astounding, IIRC around $20-$30 for a couple 8" or so beans (unsure of the $/weight ratio). I always assumed Madagascar had some favorable environment that made a premium bean but that Mexico had a comparable bean with much lower import costs so the Mexican variety was the economical choice.

This is is terrible news and I thanked you for it.


You can test by just smelling. If it smells like vanilla, it's vanilla. If it smells like really really good vanilla, it's the contaminated stuff.

cedarchopper
11th July 2010, 09:46 AM
Instead of relying on questionable products, make your own...plus buy in bulk, and for not much money, have enough vanilla to last a long time.

http://www.amadeusvanillabeans.com/store/packages/vanilla-beans.asp

http://www.amazon.com/Vanilla-Bourbon-Beans-CERTIFIED-ORGANIC/dp/B000WR8GS4

CrufflerJJ
11th July 2010, 03:15 PM
Instead of relying on questionable products, make your own...plus buy in bulk, and for not much money, have enough vanilla to last a long time.

http://www.amadeusvanillabeans.com/store/packages/vanilla-beans.asp

http://www.amazon.com/Vanilla-Bourbon-Beans-CERTIFIED-ORGANIC/dp/B000WR8GS4


Cedarchopper - THANKS for explaining the differences between the different types of vanilla beans.

Rather than buying them from Rock-me-Amadeus (or Amazon), I've bought my goodies for years from Vanilla-Saffron Imports, out in San Francisco. See saffron.com . They've been selling vanilla & saffron for 30 years, and for 12 years online (according to their website). Besides vanilla beans (all types & grades), they also sell extracts (vanilla and others - 2 ox-->1 gal, single & double strength) and vanilla sugar.

I've been very happy with their "chef quality" beans ($20/lb). NOTE that if you buy beans from them, you might want to repackage them for long term storage. As supplied, they come in vacuum, packed ziploc nylon/PE pouches (sort of like a commercial FoodSaver pouch). These are OK, but DO NOT keep the volatile oils (yummy vanilla scent) from leaking out of the pouch. I've put them into vacuum sealed mason jars and vacuum sealed mylar pouches (both with oxy absorbers).

If you like using saffron in cooking, I also highly recommend their Iranian Sargol saffron. Good stuff!

cedarchopper
12th July 2010, 06:54 AM
Thanks, Cruffler! That is a hell of a deal for a pound of whole vanilla beans. I'm going to order a pound and check it out.

CrufflerJJ
12th July 2010, 10:05 AM
Thanks, Cruffler! That is a hell of a deal for a pound of whole vanilla beans. I'm going to order a pound and check it out.


I think you'll be pretty happy with their products. Enjoy!

Saul Mine
12th July 2010, 01:37 PM
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Vanilla-Extraction/ For those who want to make their own. Please notice that you want grade B beans, whereas most dealers are trying to sell grade A.

If you just want to reduce cost, get your vanilla from a restaurant supply store. I get mine at Smart And Final. A pint of vanilla costs less than the little 2 oz bottle at the grocery store.

cedarchopper
12th July 2010, 02:49 PM
Ordered 2 pounds of the chef's grade vanilla beans because the shipping was $12 and change for 1 pound of beans...2 pounds didn't change the shipping, so 2 it was :]

Sometimes we can good deal ourselves to death ;]

CrufflerJJ
12th July 2010, 04:35 PM
Ordered 2 pounds of the chef's grade vanilla beans because the shipping was $12 and change for 1 pound of beans...2 pounds didn't change the shipping, so 2 it was :]

Sometimes we can good deal ourselves to death ;]


Shipping price per pound would have probably been even cheaper if you'd bought a modest 14,000 pounds!