- Tanzania is seeking a slice of the global vanilla beans market that is set to reach $2.11 billion this year.
- The East African country is ranked the 27th largest exporter of Vanilla in the world.
- An enormous trend toward convenience foods driven primarily by urbanization is driving vanilla market globally.
Tanzania vanilla farming value chain is aligning itself to tap into growing consumer preferences as people move to experiment with novel food products to satisfy their taste buds.
The global food industry is producing new food products with functional and nutritional features, and Tanzania’s vanilla value chain intends to meet the rising demand from consumers and producers.
Value of vanilla in global market
What’s your favorite ice cream flavour? Whether it is ice cream, yogurt, milk, cake, or brownies, vanilla is one of the most common and favorite flavours. Did you know that vanilla flavour is extracted from a black-coloured spice?
Due to growing popularity, the vanilla bean fetches a pretty sum in the international market. An enormous trend toward convenience foods driven primarily by urbanization, an expanding workforce, and rising disposable income is boosting the market for vanilla in emerging economies. The rapidly developing food and beverage industries in China and India are also significantly driving vanilla sales.
H&H Product Company, Heilala Vanilla Limited, Givaudan SA, Lochhead Manufacturing Company, McCormick & Company, Inc., International Flavors & Fragrances, Dolan Flavoring Co., Eurovanille, Firmenich SA, Flavor Producers, LLC, Flavorchem Corporation and Nielsen-Massey Vanillas are a few of the key participants in the global vanilla value chain.
Pure vanilla extract market
Persistence Market Research estimates that the total volume-based demand for vanilla will be 60,664 tonnes this year. This volume will hit 87,632 tonnes by the end of 2033, growing at an annual rate of 3.7 per cent.
Industry experts say that global vanilla beans market will reach $2.11 billion this year. Market research firm Straits says if the vanilla market keeps growing at its current annual rate of 2.60 percent, it will hit $2.40 billion by 2028. From 2023 to 2033, the market for pure vanilla extract is expected to expand at an annual rate of 8.8 per cent.
According to the Tanzania Horticultural Association (Taha), during the pre-COVID era, fresh vanilla was selling more than $350 per kilo. A hectare can produce up to or in excess of 2,000 kilograms of vanilla beans.
Tanzania vanilla farming—exports
As of 2021, Tanzania exported $919,000 worth of vanilla, which the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) says that amount made the country the 27th largest exporter of vanilla in the world.
According to the OEC data, the main destination of Vanilla exports from Tanzania are: the United States ($677,000), France ($174,000), Germany ($49,300), Israel ($7,340), and Argentina ($3,830).
However; “following the impacts of Covid-19, prices have halved to $184 (TSh450,000) per kilogramme that has been boycotted by farmers. They have now asked Taha to look for another buyer,” reports Taha agronomist Ally Kamtande Ally.
Nonetheless, the vanilla expert remains confident that the crop still has huge potential for Tanzanian farmers and the country as a whole.
Other than the Covid-triggered demand drop, Tanzania’s production of vanilla has fallen due to several other factors. First, a natural occurrence forced a drop in production when wilt disease attacked banana crops in Tanzania. Across the country, most vanilla is grown under the shade of banana plants. So, the crop was affected when bananas suffered. Vanilla plants have a long, fleshy climbing stem that attaches to trees such as bananas by aerial rootlets; roots also penetrate the soil.
Tanzania vanilla farming
The tropical weather in Tanzania is well-suited for vanilla production. Vanilla does best in temperature ranges of 20 to 30 degrees and in altitudes below 1,500 metres above sea level. As for rain, vanilla needs an average rainfall of between 1,200 millimetres to 2,500 millimetres per year. In Tanzania, these conditions can be found in the northwest regions near Lake Victoria.
Other vanilla growing regions in Tanzania include Kagera, North Kilimanjaro, Morogoro, Tanga, Mwanza, and Mbeya to mention but a few.
Another interesting fact is that vanilla is manually pollinated. Farmers use sharp objects to collect pollen grains and then place them into the plants’ stigma.
“Some countries in South and Central America have been blessed with bees that support cross-pollination. However, such bees are not available in Tanzania and many other countries,” the expert explained.
Only pollinated vanilla flowers will produce fruits that are ready for fermentation, drying, and processing. So, hand pollination makes vanilla farming a very labour-intensive venture.
For export, only the top grades fetch a high market value. The top grade vanilla pods are the longest, averaging 15 centimeters. As the length of the pod dwindles, so does the value of the crop.
The second grade of vanilla pods average 10 centimeters while lengths below that fall into third grade. After the harvesting, vanilla pods are cured reducing water content and increasing the concentration of the active ingredient—vanillin.
Also Read: Can Zanzibar rival Kochi to be another spice capital?
Preserve vanilla aroma
“This is followed by ‘killing,’ a process whereby beans are soaked in hot water for two to five minutes at about 70 degrees celsius before proceeding to the ‘sweating’ stage. Sweating occurs when wet beans are placed into wooden crates with a blanket interior.”
Further, the pods are let to dry under direct sun for three hours a day for about two weeks. What’s more, the beans are packed in their dried form using natural fibres and then into wooden crates or metallic boxes. However, whatever the box type, it must contain wax paper linings to help preserve the vanilla’s famous aroma.
Transportation after packaging is also no walk in the park. Vanilla is transported in refrigerated trucks before shipment for export. This requirement makes vanilla farming a very costly venture for smallholder farmers in Tanzania.
Post-harvest preparations
These labour intesive processes are what makes vanilla fetches a high price in the market. In fact, vanilla is considered the most expensive spice second only to saffron.
The market for vanilla is spread across various sectors including food, cosmetics and healthcare.
So the next time you order your vanilla-flavoured ice cream and think that the price is a bit steep, just remember the long journey that the vanilla takes to get to your palate. Just savor it—and pay—it is worth it.