Primary producers of all commodities suffer from the market ups and downs you describe. Vanilla is just more dramatic than others. I often work with vanilla farmers in Indonesia and Timor Leste, and there are lots of good news stories out there, too. Quality improvement for a price premium, crop diversification, sustainability, organic certification, etc.
I’d love to learn more about your work in Indonesia and Timor Leste! I think individual case studies are important in illustrating these dynamics in a concrete way, especially for an ingredient as commonly consumed yet invisible, and incredibly volatile, as vanilla.
Thank you so much for this - I see myself as someone fairly knowledgable about the food system in general, but aside from how vanillin is produced, I really had no idea about the issues surrounding vanilla. Definitely moved me, and made me think, something I deeply appreciate <3
This sounds similar to the specialty coffee industry, which is likewise precarious. Climate change threatens cacao production as well. It has me questioning how much longer we’ll be able to enjoy these luxury crops; were they ever ours to enjoy in the first place?
What a fascinating piece. So much more appreciative of this magical ingredient!
thank you sheryl!
Primary producers of all commodities suffer from the market ups and downs you describe. Vanilla is just more dramatic than others. I often work with vanilla farmers in Indonesia and Timor Leste, and there are lots of good news stories out there, too. Quality improvement for a price premium, crop diversification, sustainability, organic certification, etc.
I’d love to learn more about your work in Indonesia and Timor Leste! I think individual case studies are important in illustrating these dynamics in a concrete way, especially for an ingredient as commonly consumed yet invisible, and incredibly volatile, as vanilla.
Thank you so much for this - I see myself as someone fairly knowledgable about the food system in general, but aside from how vanillin is produced, I really had no idea about the issues surrounding vanilla. Definitely moved me, and made me think, something I deeply appreciate <3
thank you for reading! it’s really wild how much we don’t know about the ingredients we use everyday.
This sounds similar to the specialty coffee industry, which is likewise precarious. Climate change threatens cacao production as well. It has me questioning how much longer we’ll be able to enjoy these luxury crops; were they ever ours to enjoy in the first place?
An updated price chart might change your story. 2017 was how long ago? Things have changed markedly in terms of market dynamics.