MADAGASCAR: Cyclone expected in high population areas - AlertNet

Watch for damage to farm lands...vanilla fields..

Vanilla Marlet report - 2011
Aust & Hachmann (Canada) Ltd
...............worldwide demand for vanilla will be met by the current production estimates, but only just. This of course is based on the widely accepted but very difficult to prove global consumption number of 2500mt. Surplus vanilla inventories whether speculative or simply unsold have played a large role in keeping prices under control. It is common knowledge that almost 600mt of Industrial grade Madagascar vanilla beans from a speculative play now more than 3 years old still sits in a Northern European warehouse. This vanilla is now under control of the Rado Banking Group. In spite of this we believe the overall surplus of vanilla has shrunk considerably over the last few years and at one time was probably well over 2000mt