Vanilla Prices Are Volatile. One Country Wants To Fix It. (opens in new tab)

Vanilla is so valuable that it's been called \"green gold\.\" At its peak in 2017, prices reached nearly $600 per kilo, making it the second-most expensive spice in the world\. But by 2024, prices had crashed to roughly $50 per kilo\. That volatility stems from one major factor: The world depends heavily on Madagascar, which has historically supplied about 80% of natural vanilla\. When storms, theft, early harvesting, or policy changes hit Madagascar's crop, the entire global market feels it\...