The surging prices of vanilla beans are creating a problem for both professional and home bakers. The price has risen to about $650 per kilogram over the last couple of years. Madagascar, which is the world's lead producer was hit with a cyclone in March and this has done great damage to the vanilla crop. Pure vanilla extract has also seen a climb from $70 in 2015 to almost $500 per gallon currently.
What's problematic is that the price doesn't seem to be going down as it's done in the past due to other weather issues. This year's cyclone hit the SAVA region, where most of the vanilla is grown, and crops were devastated. In fact, most of the surrounding areas were so badly damaged that they weren't able to protect the new growing crop from damaging sun. Because of the demand, the price of vanilla from other locations such as Mexico, India, Indonesia and Uganda has also gone up.