Cyclones and late flowering may stoke vanilla prices with output in Madagascar, the biggest producer of the spice, expected to fall by more than 30% from a year ago, according to the main association of exporters.
Tropical storm Dumako is forecast by Meteo Madagascar to bring prolonged, heavy rains and winds after making landfall Tuesday in the Indian Ocean island’s northeast region where a fifth of its vanilla is grown. It comes just weeks after Madagascar was devastated by cyclone Batsirai and storm Ana that together claimed at least 150 lives.
