Vanilla Woes...

All of us who love vanilla are going to be in for sticker shock. In the last three years there has been a 210% increase in the price of vanilla. The reason? In the late 90's low prices spurred less vanilla cultivation, then a typhoon damaged the vanilla crop in Madagascar. The following year, another Typhoon, Huda, caused speculation in the vanilla market and the product rose in price.

These prices led the farmers to harvest their crops too early, which caused even more damage to the vanilla vines. Poor weather, bad harvesting practices, and the civil war that is now going on in Madagascar has made the supply of vanilla beans quite limited and the prices continue to climb. This year, Magagascar has had another bad harvest year. For the first time in alot of years Frontier may actually RUN OUT of vanilla beans and or vanilla extract - just like we have run out of true arrow root which grows only in specific areas, the one we carry grows in one place on the entire planet, that being St Vincent Island. The crop was very bad, McCormick Spice got the bulk of it, we got a little bit...we now don't have it in bulk, but only in small spice bottles. Also missing in action is quality Eucalyptus Globus Essential Oil - particularly anything orgainc and Fennugreek Seed organic.

Welcome the wonderful world of finite resources. :-/