According to the International Dairy Foods Association, vanilla is the most popular flavor of ice cream in the U.S. Unfortunately, the price of your favorite sweet treat may soon be going up!
Cost of vanilla skyrocketing after cyclones in Madagascar
So what do natural disasters in Madagascar and frozen treats have to do with each other? Well, that country produced 41% of the world’s vanilla in 2016, only slightly less than Indonesia.
Madagascar still typically thousands more tons of vanilla beans than any country behind it in the top 10. Vanilla harvesting is labor intensive and requires careful farming practices in order to get a quality product.
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Popular brands like Ben & Jerry’s, Breyers and Haagen-Dazs all source vanilla from Madagascar — and because of this reliance, we might all soon see higher prices on our favorite pints.
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