Vanilla: Uganda aims for the world podium

Quietly but surely, Uganda is establishing itself as a major new player on the global vanilla market. In 2024, the country exported more than 265 metric tons, an increase that is now attracting major international buyers.

Long dominated by Madagascar, this strategic sector is opening up to new territories. Uganda benefits from favorable climatic conditions, a rich volcanic soil, and above all a shifted harvesting schedule that enables it to deliver outside traditional production peaks.

Ugandan vanilla is renowned for its high vanillin content – the main aromatic element – which appeals to the high-end food and cosmetics industries.

This development is boosting the rural economy: according to the Ministry of Agriculture, more than 80,000 small-scale producers now make their living from this crop. This windfall is all the more precious given that vanilla is one of the world’s most expensive spices, fetching up to $600 a kilo on the market.

The challenge now is to guarantee quality and traceability, to consolidate the country’s reputation and withstand the volatility of world prices. Uganda, on the strength of its vanilla, dreams of becoming an African leader and a world leader.

source: agence ecofin