Vanilla from Madagascar: the minimum export sales price is debated
Vanilla sorting, in Madagascar, in the village of Anjombalava, in the heart of the main vanilla production region (illustrative image).
AFP / Patrick Mercier
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
In Madagascar, the vanilla export campaign began on Wednesday September 15 and is due to end on May 31, 2022. The world's leading producer of this highly prized spice, the Big Island exported just over 2,300 tonnes in 2020. This year, like the two previous years - which marked a significant drop in the price of vanilla - the Malagasy government decided to resort to price fixing and imposed a minimum export sales rate of 250 dollars per kilo.
A price that is the subject of debate among exporters.
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With our correspondent in Antananarivo,
Laetitia Bezain
Too high, this is how some exporters qualify the price of $ 250 per kilo set by the government.
"
We have no new customers this year because this rate is too expensive compared to other countries such as Uganda or Indonesia,
" said an exporter from Antalaha, in northeastern Madagascar.
For him, the fair price is between 150 and 200 dollars per kilo.
The sector should be "
managed by the exporters
"
The same goes for this other trader based 80 km away, in Sambava: "
The sector should be managed by the exporters themselves and not by the prices set by the government
", he believes.
"
Pulling prices down is pulling quality down and it's an endless circle
," explains Georges Geerearts, president of the Groupement des exportateurs de Vanille de Madagascar, who continues to oppose importers who want to lower prices.
“
This year, buyers, especially Europeans, understand.
They agree that we must stop "facadism", that is to say, on the one hand, make so-called "sustainable" projects and on the other hand do everything to ensure that the price plunges
", he explains.
Optimism
Georges Geerearts is optimistic about this campaign: “
the market is revitalizing itself with, for several countries, the reopening of restaurant areas.
So there will always be some pressure on demand,
”he continues.
The quality of Madagascan vanilla this year is very good and production is reasonable, around 2,000 tonnes, exporters say.
Several of them also deplore that the Ministry of Commerce has not yet released the list of approvals which authorizes them to sell.
►Also listen
: Vanilla trial in the United States: what impact for Madagascan vanilla?
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