TOWN OF MOUNT ROYAL, QUE. — Expect demand for vanilla to increase, especially for black/gourmet vanilla, as the foodservice and leisure industries recover from COVID-19 restrictions, according to a June 4 vanilla market update from Aust & Hachmann, a vanilla company based in Quebec.

Madagascar produces a majority of the world’s commercially grown vanilla. The government of that country instituted a minimum export price of $250 per kilogram (2.2 lbs) last year. That price is still in effect even though it is about double the actual market price, according to Aust & Hachmann. The actions of the Madagascar government halted the decline in vanilla prices, which had fallen from a high of $600 per kilogram in 2018, according to the report.

Supply is increasing. The 2020 harvest in Madagascar probably exceeded 2,000 tonnes, and the 2021 harvest could surpass that figure, too, according to the report.

“Over the past months there has been a surge in demand for vanilla, mostly in North America with the EU likely soon to follow,” the report said. “As a result, we do not expect a large carryover of vanilla stock from 2020. However, 2021 is gearing up to be another large crop in Madagascar which could easily exceed (2,000 tonnes). A shortfall in supply is extremely unlikely.”