VANILLA PLANTS - SUPPLIES & OFFERS

ABOUT VANILLA SPECIES

Porteres in Bouriquet (1954) describes 110 species of vanilla, distributed in the tropics of both the world and the New World. They belong to the orchid family, Orchidaceae, which is the largest family of flowering plants, with about 700 genera and 20,000 species. The Orchidaceae comprise a very natural, distinctive and highly advanced group of monocotyledons. They are perennial herbs which are widely distributed throughout the world with the greatest number in the tropics.

On the Mexican Vanilla story:

GUTIERREZ ZAMORA, Mexico - In the birthplace of the vanilla bean, Olga Edda Gaya-Capellini aims to secure her town's future by reclaiming its past.

Gutierrez Zamora and nearby Papantla, two rural towns 300 miles south of the Texas border, once ranked as twin dynamos that sent vanilla's delicate flavor and fragrance to the four corners of the globe.

Now, after decades of decline, Gaya-Capellini wants to restore the region's former glory. Her first goal is shipping her family's vanilla extract to gourmet shops around the United States.

``We want to rescue vanilla in Mexico,'' said Gaya-Capellini, the manager of Gaya Vai-Mex in Gutierrez Zamora, a stone's throw from the Gulf of Mexico in the sweltering state of Veracruz. ``We're going to recover our prestige.''

Mexico's storied vanilla industry is launching a comeback, as industry leaders unveil plans to reclaim a flavoring that used to be as Mexican as tequila or chile peppers.

With global vanilla prices at an all-time high, a handful of extract makers such as Gaya Vai-Mex are challenging competitors from other nations, including the United States.

They're also taking on domestic manufacturers who have cornered the market with synthetic vanilla.

Despite a reputation as an inferior flavoring, vanilla-flavored chemical cocktails now account for nearly all of Mexico's domestic market -- not to mention most sales to unsuspecting foreign tourists.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 growers in Veracruz are ramping up vanilla bean production. Since vanilla must be pollinated, harvested and cured by hand, industry leaders hope to create jobs for the busloads of locals who now leave for the United States and the border region.

``This is the renaissance of vanilla production in Mexico,'' said Heriberto Larios, a vanilla grower in Papantla who provides technical advice to dozens of other farmers.

First, however, the Mexican vanilla industry will have to reverse its long decline.

Once the world's largest supplier, Mexico produced a mere 24 tons of dried vanilla beans last year. Market leader Madagascar typically produces 1,000 tons a year. The vanilla plant originally hails from Mexico and Central America, and its historical roots run deepest around Papantla and Gutierrez Zamora. History credits the area's Totonac Indians as the first to produce large quantities of it, as early as 800 years ago.

In recent years, demand for natural vanilla has risen sharply in the United States as Americans discover it isn't just for ice cream. It can be used for everything from pastries to perfumes. Some connoisseurs can even tell which region of a particular country a vanilla bean hails from.

Mexico was the world's leading vanilla supplier until the middle of the 19th century, and it remained among the top producers for decades afterward. Then, starting in 1910, the Mexican Revolution disrupted production for several years.

Later, oil companies struck black gold in Poza Rica, about 20 miles from Papantla. Their wells, refineries and roads destroyed part of the plant's habitat.

After World War II, synthetic vanillas and rising production in Madagascar dropped the price to historic lows.

Many farmers switched to cattle ranching or cash crops such as citrus and bananas, which eroded the land. By the 1990s, Mexico's production of dried vanilla had dropped to an all-time low of 13 tons per year.

Then tragedy struck halfway around the world, spelling opportunity here.

In the year 2000, cyclones destroyed about a third of Madagascar's vanilla crop and inventory. In addition, political instability slowed the island nation's exports.

Prices skyrocketed to as much as $100 per pound, from previous levels as low as $25 per pound. And industry leaders in Veracruz began plotting their return.

Today, only 1,200 acres are still planted with vanilla around Papantla and Gutierrez Zamora. But growers recently made a serendipitous discovery : Orange trees provide an ideal host for vanilla plants, which depend on tree trunks for support.

As it happens, orange trees blanket 250,000 acres of the region's verdant meadows and rolling hills, their fruit glinting in the sun like tropical Christmas tree lights.

``We have the potential to produce 800 to 1,000 tons of dried vanilla,'' said Victor Vallejo, the director of the Veracruz Vanilla Council.

If so, that would vault Mexico back to the ranks of top producers. The question is what happens to the vanilla price.

``We have a major shortage now, but what is going to happen is that in two or three years we're going to see a terrible glut in vanilla,'' said Rain, the vanilla queen.

Back in her office, Gaya-Capellini rails against those who produce artificial imitations of a natural flavoring Mexico gave to the world.

``We need to do away with this erroneous perception that Mexican vanilla is no good,'' Gaya-Capellini said. ``We're going to take the vanilla extract market back for Mexico.''

Extracted from Mercury News service

Mexico monopolized the production of vanilla until the 19th century, Now its vanilla industry is concentrated primarily around Papantla.

But most vanilla beans come from Madagascar and Indonesia. Vanilla also is cultivated in Costa Rica, Uganda, China, India, Fiji, Tahiti, Guatemala, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and the Philippines.

The story here traces the systems and practices in some of these areas and their visuals.

 

 

MADAGASCAR:

REUNION:

SEYCHELLES

COMORES:

 

 

 

Vanilla in pollination by hand

A worker pollinating by hand the vanilla flower.

Vanilla intercrop system and the outlay in Madagascar

Intensive vanilla culitivation under shade net in Madagascar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MORE VANILLA WORLD TRIPS

VANILLA IN VANUATU WITH TANNY LEE

 

 

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