Sweet-toothed consumers are facing double trouble with storms lashing the world\u2019s top producer of vanilla \u2013 a beloved flavour for ice cream \u2013 even as surging cocoa prices bite into chocolate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Madagascar\u2019s key vanilla-growing region has been slammed by Cyclone Gamane, whose rain and high winds have flooded fields and stripped vanilla pods from their vines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Georges Geeraerts, president of the Indian Ocean island\u2019s union of vanilla exporters, said the deluge could halve the vanilla harvest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOn a bad year, production is about 1,500 tons compared with a range of 2,000 to 2,500 tons,\u201d Geeraerts said via telephone. \u201cA conservative estimate, ahead of more detailed analysis from the growing region, means that the output for the current harvest could be as low as 1,000 tons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adverse weather is hammering Africa, with drought conditions in the south withering crops and contributing to higher food inflation, while West Africa\u2019s cocoa producers have seen yields collapse from heavy rain and disease, more than tripling prices to as much as $10,000 a ton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s forcing chocolate makers to raise prices and trim portions for customers. The good news for ice cream lovers is that vanilla\u2019s supply constraints are not expected to be prolonged, and its cost has still not recovered from a recent glut in supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis year\u2019s lower impact will bring equilibrium as from 2025,\u201d said Geeraerts. \u201cThe market is liberalized and the current pricing per kilogram is about $60\u201d from $250 two years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n