The Vanilla Report

Newsletter August 10, 2023

The Vanilla Reports & Newsletters (NEW)

At the level of farmers. (according to results of our farmers surveys of June and July 2023) Farmers had been expecting to be offered very low prices . As usual, prices imposed and practiced at the earlier (May) market of Ambanja on the West Coast are an indicator are a good indicator of prices to be implemented later on in the whole country. This year, a very low price of Ar 5000 was recorded. At that price and taking into account the different costs to cure, dry, sort, package, etc. transport the beans, the FOB price would be of USD 30. In fact, people who attended the sales are of the opinion that in effect, no real business was conducted and that real prices were even under that level. If one looks back at July 2022; when the former green bean markets were held, the prices were split between those you received the official price of Ar 75 000 theoretically imposed by government. They represented 12% of the total and composed mostly by buyers who had some attachment with the government or were too publicly exposed when buying at auctions...

Demeter Vanilla Field Survey

Main Results:

(harvest 21/22 refers to vanilla flowers pollinated in fall 2021 and pods harvested in 2022)

1. Our field survey indicated that the 2021/2022 harvest of vanilla in Madagascar could be well below 2,000 tons but for once this report prefers to correct these results and opt for a harvest at around 1,800 tons.

2. The internal marketing of this harvest showed a significant difference between the official price of 75,000 Ariary per kilo to be paid at the edge of the farm and the real price paid by the collectors (between 35,000 Ar and 50,000 Ar).

3. A similar discrepancy occurs between the price of dried vanilla recommended/imposed by the Malagasy authorities (Ar 500,000) and the actual price offered by the collectors.

4. The consequence is that in terms of income, farmers can cover their cost of living at official prices but not at actual prices.

5. As for the new crop (2022/2023), and due to climate change, pollination has barely started in early November. A large number of inflorescences present for later pollination could still allow an average harvest to occur...

Demeter Vanilla Price Index

Evidenced in the early Ambanja sales of green beans, the minimum farmgate price imposed by government is not really implemenetd. if it was, it would bring the FOB price at USD 200 as appears in the following tables:

Documents, Regulations,..

Madagascar The Ministry of Commerce (Ministère de l’Industrialisation, du Commerce et de la Consummation) has declared in a « Official Notice to International Buyers of vanilla » signed on September 9 2022, following a Government Council Meeting “Conseil de Gouvernement » that the Conseil National de la Vanille”, calls International buyers of vanilla to declare officially their Intention to buy Malagasy Vanilla in order to prepare a list“verified international buyers” The applications from international buyers should be sent before the 30th September 2022. In practical terms, potential buyers are required to fill the forms presented hereunder and comply with the conditions presented in the documents issued by the “Conseil National de la vanilla” We present herunder the different texts , requirements and application form. As one of these requirements are for the applicant to present a “K Bis” which is a “certificate of incorporation used strictly in France, we provide an English adaptation of the information listed in this “KBis”. We shall in the coming days also give clarifications as to the implementation of these procedures and provide subscribers with practical advice as to how to apply.

Q&A, Soon to come

As this research has been conducted since 2003 and as we have in stock a lot of unpublished material, we shall be happy to present our subscribers with answers to their queries, in the limit of our knowledge...

Climate and Agronomy

Climate warming is affecting the SAVA region which produces most of Madagascar’s vanilla: Cyclones are stronger than ever but appear to be hitting this year the middle of the island. The Vanilla Report will investigate further that evolution and determine whether it is durable or not...

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