Daily Mail

WHY VANILLA ICE CREAM COULD SOON BE A LUXURY

-

ICE cream aficionado­s beware – your favourite vanilla cone is under threat.

A cyclone which devastated the tropical island of Madagascar has led to a surge in the price of vanilla pods, putting many ice cream makers in a sticky spot.

Vanilla is one of the world’s most popular flavours and its hike in value has caused a scramble for supplies.

It is used in a range of products from ice cream to sweets and coffee, and Madagascar produces nearly half the world’s crop.

But the shortage has forced some ice cream shops to stop serving the flavour. Marco Petracchin­i, operations manager of London gelato chain Oddono’s Gelati Italiani, said his firm was previously able to buy a kilogram of vanilla pods for £250 before the cyclone in March – now the same amount would cost about £650.

He added: ‘The problem is because of the shortage the pods on sale are not great quality. If we wanted to get the same quality by paying more, we would have to increase our prices but we don’t want to do that – ice cream should be for everyone.’

 ??  ??
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom