PRODUCT CLASSIFICATION
Vanilla is one of the most popular flavoring and fragrance worldwide, known for its sweet, complex scent and its versatility. In fact, it’s sold as whole beans, powder, or extract and is used in many contexts, for example baking, desserts, perfumes and cosmetics.
It’s also a key ingredient in both traditional recipes and modern food production, and its high value and global demand make it a main character in international trade.
Vanilla is a part of Coffee, tea, mate & spices, a category of the Vegetable Products section that includes a wide range of related by-products, like Vanilla beans.
It also has a Product Complexity Index of -1.97, ranking 1008 out of 1044 products in 2023.
This post will not consider the Vanilla trade in general, but it will be focused on the Malagasy market, the largest exporter of this product in the world.
EXPORT
In 2023 Madagascar exported an amount of $389M worth of Vanilla, becoming the largest exporter of this category out of 122 countries in the world, with an estimated percentage of 63.8 of share in global exports; during the same year, Vanilla was the 2nd most exported product in Madagascar out of 810.
The main destinations of the country’s exports were
- United States - $143M;
- France - $92.5M;
- Germany - $35.5M;
- Netherlands - $30.9M;
- Canada - $19.6M.
IMPORT
In 2023 it was estimated that Madagascar imported around $2.11M worth of Vanilla, becoming the 23rd largest importer of the product out of 190 countries, with a 0.35% of share in global imports; during the same year, Vanilla was the 278th most imported product in the country out of 1110.
It was imported primarily from
- Mauritius - $783K;
- France - $663K;
- United Arab Emirates - $309K;
- Germany - $165K;
- South Korea - $144K.
GROWTH POTENTIAL
According to the source, between 2022 and 2023 the fastest growing markets for the category’s imports and exports in Madagascar were the following
MARKETS FOR VANILLA EXPORTS
- Mauritius - $4.08M;
- Singapore - $2.4M;
- Australia - $1.31M.
MARKETS FOR VANILLA IMPORTS
- Germany - $162K;
- Canada - $16.3K.
CONCLUSIONS
In 2023 Madagascar Vanilla trade continued to define the country’s agricultural identity and global reputation. With ideal growing conditions and generations of farming expertise, Madagascar remained the world leader in the exportation scenario of the category.
This deep connection between land, tradition and global demand highlights the importance of Vanilla in the country’s economy and its potential to create and maintain a more sustainable market in the future.
Source: https://oec.world/en
