Global vanilla prices are predicted to fall in the next seasons which could be a great discouragement to farmers.
While updating the public about the vanilla harvest dates for the first season of the year 2023 at the Uganda Media Centre on tuesday, the State Minister for Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries, Mr Fred Bwino Kyakulaga attributed the projected fall in prices to reduced global consumer demand and global buyers stocking up in anticipation of crop failure in Madagascar, the leading producer of vanilla in the world.
He, however, encouraged local farmers to keep growing vanilla and be mindful of the quality of the products they produce in a competitive world market.
“The issue of quality in Uganda’s vanilla subsector remains critical than ever as Uganda seeks to position itself to be a competitive and reliable origin of vanilla, second to Madagascar,” Bwino said.
The minister meanwhile announced 17th July 2023 as the appropriate vanilla harvest season onwards, urging farmers to pick only ripe vanilla beans, cautioning that government will take strong action against anyone found harvesting or in possession of unripe green vanilla beans.
Major markets for Uganda’s vanilla include; USA, Indonesia, Canada, France, Germany, Australia, Belgium, South Africa, New Zealand, Japan, Israel, and Mauritius, among others.
