[bokstavkjeks]

It's kind of a problem in that any supply problems have pretty massive effects on the price. A cyclone hit Madagascar in 2011 which significantly reduced the year's harvest, sending the prices skyrocketing [0]. Anecdotally, there was a time during 2016/2017 where my local stores couldn't even get vanilla pods.

[0] https://moneyweek.com/chart-of-the-week-vanilla-could-soon-b...

[xkgt]

In 2012, I was chatting with an south indian plantation owner. He had planned take advantage of this huge demand and setup a vanilla farm. But he lost all his investment within a year as the farm got plagued by disease. Not only is it difficult to cultivate, but it seems vanilla is also less resilient to diseases. Perhaps that explains why it is grown only few regions.