Chapter 21. Vanilla Production in East Africa Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, and Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Clemens Fehr

Introduction

This chapter deals with vanilla production in East Africa.

In East Africa, vanilla production is concentrated around the Lake Victoria basin and around the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains in the Albertine Rift Valley. Vanilla-producing countries include Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and the Eastern Democratic Republic (DR) of Congo, with Uganda being the main producer.

It is notoriously difficult to get accurate information and figures on vanilla production, especially from the smaller producer countries in this region. In addition, a large quantity of vanilla is traded between the countries and is later exported as Ugandan vanilla. This chapter accordingly focuses on Uganda and presents information on an aggregate basis. However, where country-specific information is available, it is mentioned.

History of Vanilla Growing in East Africa

Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia) was introduced into the then British Protectorate of Uganda from Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) in the 1920s. However, it was not until the 1950s when the first significant plantations were established in Mukono District on the shores of Lake Victoria (Figure 21.1).

FIGURE 21.1 Situation map of the main vanilla-growing areas in Central Africa.


In the 1970s, during the Idi Amin regime, the economy of Uganda collapsed, and along with it the vanilla industry. Although a small production of vanilla persisted, the sector did not see a revival until the mid-1990s when the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) initiated a vanilla project. Lasting from 1995 to 2004, the project promoted an increase in vanilla production from a few tons annually in the early 1990s to approximately 200 tons in 2006. It was also instrumental to expand the growing area from the lake region to other areas of the country, most importantly to the Rwenzori areas, in particular in Bundibugyo District.

The introduction and promotion of vanilla in other countries of the region is an even more a recent phenomenon. In Tanzania, vanilla is grown along the Western shores of Lake Victoria, in the Kagera region. It started in the mid-1990s and originated from vanilla plants grown in Uganda.

With regard to the DR Congo, although there are reports that vanilla was grown in the west of the country during colonial times, none of these activities can be traced today. Instead, vanilla growing is now concentrated in North Kivu Province, to the west of the Rwenzori Mountains and is a direct offspring of the promotion of vanilla in the western regions of Uganda during the 1990s.

Vanilla growing in Kenya is an even more recent phenomena and the response of the recent high-price phase. Apparently, little progress has been made.

Agronomy and Processing of Vanilla

The East African highlands are characterized by a mild, equatorial climate with a bimodal rainfall distribution. It permits for two distinct growing and harvesting seasons. This also applies for vanilla and sets the region apart from other vanilla-growing areas worldwide.

Around the shores of the lake, the main vanilla-harvesting season is from June to August, whereas the minor season lasts from December to February. Around the Rwenzori Mountains, it is vice versa.

Although there are flowering and harvesting seasons, due to the distinct micro-climate, the main seasons for flowering and harvesting spread over 3–4 months, and even beyond these periods it is possible to find new flowers developing. As a result, although fluctuating, plants usually carry flowers, immature beans, and mature beans at the same time.

Agronomy

The production in the entire region is exclusively from V. planifolia. In general, vanilla is grown by small farmers and many produce only a few kilos of green beans per year. Some exceptions to this exist, including DML sprl. in the DR Congo, which has established plantations approaching 20 ha.

Planting material usually derives from own fields or from neighbors. During the planting boom that resulted from the high prices obtained for vanilla in 2003 and 2004, the planting material was sold and constituted substantial income for some farmers.

Apart from the mentioned USAID project, the sector receives little input from government institutions, and research remains scanty. As such, the general agronomy is basic and plantations usually produce below their potential. The major shortcomings are poor management of soils and weeds.

Processing

In contrast to other vanilla producing areas in the world, in East Africa most vanilla is purchased by specialized processors as green beans and cured in central curing facilities. In most cases, processing follows the classic Bourbon method, with hot water treatment, and a sunning and sweating phase followed by slow drying indoors. To retain heat, processors usually rely on insulated boxes. To reheat the beans they expose them to the sun. Artificial drying is generally not practiced.

The classic Bourbon approach suffers from two principal shortcomings: it can become quite cool at night and heat retention in the curing containers is inadequate and the vanilla becomes cold. The second problem relates to hygiene—the blankets used to insulate the vanilla constitute a latent risk with regard to contamination and fungal attacks.

Two producers of the region are known to use different curing techniques—in one case, a rapid curing method with previously chopped beans and artificial drying are applied, reducing the curing phase to a few days. The chopped beans are later sold to extractors, and a close cooperation with some exists. The method results in higher vanillin contents than classic Bourbon curing. However, it is claimed that the flavor is also more simplistic—flat and vanillin focussed. Another company in the DR Congo follows a refined Bourbon curing method. It is slower than the classic Bourbon method and results in significantly higher vanillin contents and a very subtle, sweet, balsamic, and complex flavor with elements of dried orange peel, cinnamon, and chocolate.

Characteristics of Vanilla

Centralized and relatively controlled curing is reflected in high vanillin contents. The vanilla from the region often exceeds 3% vanillin content (on dry weight basis). The flavor profile is described as subtle, sweet, and balsamic. A leathery element can be found in the flavor of some vanilla. It can most likely be attributed to vanilla that was cured at very low temperatures.

The typical vanilla is dried at a humidity of 25–33%.

Vanilla from East Africa is sought after by extract makers. The origin is gradually also making its way into the gourmet sector and it competes favorably with vanilla from Madagascar and the Comoros. Vanilla from East Africa is sought after by extract makers. The origin is gradually also making its way into the gourmet sector and it competes favorably with vanilla from Madagascar and the Comoros.

Products and Main Uses (Market Segments)

The biggest part of the vanilla production from East Africa enters the extraction market and is sold in bulk. Often the vanilla is poorly sorted. At least one company produces cold-milled vanilla powder and another solvent-based extracts.

There is a fair quantity of gourmet vanilla exported, some in retail-packed form.

In the meantime, a good part of this region’s vanilla is organically certified and at least three producers are organically and fair-trade certified, two in Uganda and one in the DR Congo.

In summary, a substantial proportion of the vanilla derived from this region aims at a specific niche in the markets, a characteristic that sets this region apart from other vanilla-producing regions.

The major vanilla producers of this region are listed in Table 21.1.

TABLE 21.1 Main Vanilla Producers and Their Products
Company Type of Vanilla Produced Contact
Buiga Farm Industries Ltd. Processor of conventional vanilla beans; bulk tamale@buiga.com
Coetzee Natural Products (U) Ltd. Processor of conventional and certified organic vanilla beans; bulk cnp@africacentral.net
DML sprl Grower and processor of vanilla beans; fair trade and certified organic vanilla lejardinbio@gmail.com
Empire Estates Trader of conventional vanilla beans; bulk Abdul214@yahoo.com
ESCO Ltd. Processor of conventional and certified organic vanilla beans; bulk esco@africaonline.co.ug
Gourmet Gardens Ltd. Producer and processor of vanilla beans; powder and extract, certified fair trade and organic; bulk and retail packs info@gourmet-gardens.net
Ndali Farm Processor of vanilla beans and extract, conventional and certified organic and fair trade; bulk and retail packs vanilla@ndali.net
Sekalala Processor of chopped and rapidly cured vanilla beans, conventional; bulk aga@simba.fm
Uganda Crop Industries Ltd. Grower and processor of vanilla beans, conventional and certified organic; bulk and retail packs Magellan@tenegra.net

Markets and Trade Routes

Two types of trade routes are to be distinguished—on the one hand, th*e local trading routes and on the other, the international trading routes.

Locally, good parts of the vanilla from the Kagera region in Tanzania and from Eastern Congo are purchased green and cured in Uganda and later marketed as Ugandan vanilla. The proportion of Tanzanian vanilla entering the global market as such is in the range of 1–3 tons. Congo currently exports 6–8 tons of homegrown vanilla. It is estimated that at least the same amount enters Uganda and is sold as Ugandan vanilla.

With regard to international markets, most gourmet vanilla is sold to Europe and small volumes of extraction and gourmet beans are sent to Japan. The main market for extraction beans appears to be the United States. The main markets in Europe are the United Kingdom and Germany. The volumes sold in France, which is in overall a big buyer of vanilla, appear small and can be attributed to the French bias towards products from their former overseas territories.

During the last few years, clients from Madagascar regularly bought extract grade vanilla for blending and upgrading vanillin-poor Madagascar vanilla. The trend continues.

Gourmet vanilla is nearly always transported by air. Extract vanilla is transported by air when prices are high. Otherwise, it is transported via the port of Mombasa in Kenya by sea.

Present Situation

The Ugandan vanilla market is completely liberalized, without any government interventions or regulations. A similar situation prevails in the neighboring countries. The consequence is that the production levels fluctuate strongly and in line with supply and demand.

With regard to actual volumes, as was mentioned earlier, it is notoriously difficult to get accurate information and figures on vanilla production in this region. The figures presented below are derived from different but usually unconfirmed sources and from direct communication with key stakeholders. Individual figures should therefore be treated with caution.

However, it is undeniable that the revival of the vanilla sector by an USAID-funded project let to an increase in vanilla production from basically nil in 1995 to about 150 tons in 2004.

The end of the project coincided with an unseen period of high prices, which resulted in many more farmers entering vanilla production and increasing the yield to around 200 tons in 2006.

Since then, because prices collapsed, a decline in production can be observed and by 2009 the production declined to about 120 tons (Table 21.2).

TABLE 21.2 Summary of the Overall Vanilla Production Trend in Eastern Africa
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Volumes (tons) 0.2 16 17 54 70 120 185 195 200 150 120
Value (‘000s USD) 8 25000 8400

Probably, the production will further decline in the coming years. Prices are low and other crops such as cocoa that are grown concurrently with vanilla currently experience a boom. It is not uncommon to see farmers actively uprooting vanilla to give way for cocoa!

Outlook

The conditions for growing vanilla in East Africa are very favorable and the resulting vanilla is of good quality. Over the last 15 years this region has established itself in the global market as a supplier of quality vanilla, which is sought after by extract makers. The gourmet sector is developing too and the vanilla offered in such forms competes favorably with vanilla from the Indian Ocean islands.

The current production potential lies in the range of 100–150 tons/year. However, due to continuous drop in prices, production declines and will continue to do so if no major change occurs in the vanilla market. Should market condition and prices change, the most likely scenario is a delayed reentry into the market, which will contribute to a renewed boom and bust cycle as was observed earlier in this decade.

The outlook for organically and fair-trade-certified vanilla is more promising. Certified farmers are more reluctant to abandon their plantations, primarily because prices are better and the demand more stable. As such, should the market situation change, they should be the major beneficiaries.

In comparison with other vanilla-producing regions worldwide, East Africa is, however, strongly handicapped by its landlocked position. It results in comparatively high transport costs and makes local producers and exporters struggle to remain competitive. The impact is particularly large during low-price phases. As a result, it is very unlikely that vanilla production in this region will increase significantly over the production levels that was seen some years ago.

For East African exporters to stay competitive, many have opted for different types of certification (organic, fair, or both) to add value to their vanilla and some have begun to transfer their vanilla into extract and powder. This trend will most likely continue, at the expense of companies in Europe and the United States that are specialized in transforming vanilla.

Last but not least, although East Africa can produce very good vanilla, it is diffi-cult to compete against the well-established Bourbon brand. Despite the fact that many consumers do not really know what Bourbon stands for they perceive it as superior to vanilla that is not labeled as Bourbon. This is a widespread phenomenon in Europe. French consumers and traders are particularly snobbish and ignorant in this. In the United States, the issue is handled less rigidly and it is not uncommon that vanilla from, for example, Indonesia is advertised as Bourbon beans from Indonesia if they were processed by the Bourbon technique.

Загрузка...