Spice is right as Indonesian startups eye value in vanilla

JAKARTA: Indonesian Sofa Arbiyanto had a manufacturing job in South Korea two years ago when he learned about the high price of vanilla on the global market, and decided to try his luck at growing it.

The interest in cultivating one of the world's most valuable spices has sparked a small movement back to the land at a time when farmers have been leaving for jobs in congested cities. The demand is no surprise, as vanilla beans from top exporter Madagascar were more expensive than silver last year, although prices have since fallen from highs of about US$600 a kg.

"Although Madagascar remains the gold standard as far as vanilla quality is concerned, Indonesia has strong potential to become an alternative origin, in terms of quantity and quality," McCormick said in an emailed statement.The coronavirus pandemic has boosted consumer demand for vanilla, as well as that from packaged food companies, it added.

Despite strong demand, shipments faced delays because of virus-related disruptions in trade, causing an annual drop of 18 per cent for the January to May period, Indonesian trade data showed."When the new normal begins and trade activities are gradually increased ... vanilla exports will become one of the mainstays of trade that will be expanded," said Kasan, a director-general in Indonesia's trade ministry.

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