Madagascar, Comoros and PNG agree on association

THE trade ministers for Papua New Guinea, Madagascar, and Comoros have agreed to establish a world association for vanilla growing nations.
International Trade and Investment Minister Richard Maru said in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the margins of the World Trade Organisation ministerial conference that the association was proposed by Madagascar.
Madagascar is currently the world’s leading vanilla producing country with more than 60 per cent of exports and generating around US$1 billion a year for the country.
Madagascar has more than one million vanilla farmers out of a population of almost 30 million persons.
Madagascar’s Minister for Industrialisation, Trade and Consumption Edgard Razafindravahy said the organization would address “price instability, sustainable development of the industry, threats to the value chain, search for new markets, and production of natural vanilla to consumers around the world”.
The creation of the organisation will make it possible to establish a mechanism for setting prices according to quality and in terms of sustainable development, the organization will promote sustainable practices that will not only guarantee vanilla quality but also fair income for farmers,” he said.
Maru said PNG was keen to join if the association looked at increasing prices for farmers to encourage them to plant vanilla and grow the industry on a long-term sustainable basis.
He requested Madagascar to assist PNG by providing technical support in terms of farmer training, improving quality of vanilla, and helping to build the industry in PNG.
“Compared with Madagascar, PNG is a small producer of vanilla. Based on recent research, PNG is estimated to produce 495 tons of vanilla a year which equates to 10 per cent of the global vanilla supply and the vanilla market in PNG was valued at K29.9 million in 2023.”