Mandatory use of vanilla in ice creams mooted

Although India is among the world's leading exporters of natural vanilla, there is little domestic demand as local industries use a synthetic substitute for the commodity.

An Exim Bank study has recommended mandatory use of natural vanilla in ice cream and introduction of labelling to distinguish products using synthetic vanillin.

The study""Vanilla and its Potential in India""observed that with policy intervention and with more private and public partnership, India can emerge as significant global player in the vanilla industry, Exim Bank said on Tuesday.

With highest price realisations among spices and lower cost of cultivation, vanilla stands out as a highly profitable cash crop for Indian farmers.

Being a labour intensive crop, it is ideal for small and marginal farmers. Factors such as uncertainty of supply and reasonably high quality of local vanilla have compelled importers in developed countries to look at India as a supply base, it said.

Besides, India also has the potential to emerge as a key player in the organic or gourmet variety of vanilla. Cultivated mostly in Karnataka and Kerala and to a lesser extent in Tamil Nadu, the North East, Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India's vanilla production is currently about 131 tonne.

India is the sixth-largest exporter. Other leading producers of vanilla are Madagascar and Indonesia. The US is the major importer, accounting for almost two-thirds of the world imports, followed by the Netherlands, France, UK and Germany, the study said.

In the absence of domestic demand, India exports almost its entire vanilla output in the form of cured beans. The exports are made without value-addition as India does not have any largescale unit for the extraction of vanillin, the main flavouring compound.

On the other hand, India imports about 600-700 tonne synthetic vanillin per annum, which is mostly consumed by the food and beverages industry.

The study observed that the issue of price volatility affecting the farmers could be addressed by creating domestic demand for the commodity.

Laws on mandatory use of natural vanilla concentrates in the high price ice cream segment, as also introducing labelling requirements to distinguish ice creams using natural vanilla from synthetic ones would help boost local demand, the study said.