In the following decades, the growth of artificial vanilla and competition with Madagascar, the current market leader, contributed to the decline of Mexico’s vanilla production. Most of the green vanilla Mexico produced in 2022 — 515 tons, according to the Mexican government — was sold locally. Gaya, the leading producer of vanilla in Veracruz, sells a 4-ounce bottle of real vanilla extract for about $5 — several times the cost of artificial vanilla. But even Gaya, which exports most of its vanilla to the United States, several years ago supplemented its natural vanilla products with an artificial vanilla line. The open-air restaurant, which displays and sells vanilla products, spends about $900 a month on four gallons of vanilla extract and about 125 vanilla pods.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 15, 2024 20:25 UTC