Vanilco launches three products to clear stocks

In a move to get rid of carry-over stocks, Vanilla India Producer Company (Vanilco) on Monday launched three products here.

The products are Vanilla Supreme ice cream, Vanicolada, a cocktail syrup, and a variant of vanilla perfume under the brand name Magnet.

Talking to mediapersons, Paul Jose, managing director of Vanilco, said the vanilla ice cream would be available in star hotels and supermarkets in 1, 5, 10 and 25 litre anodised aluminium bottles.

Vanicolada cocktail is prepared by mixing 50 ml ice cream, 10 ml Vanicolada syrup and 30 ml of white rum. The cocktail is one of the most popular drinks in Mexico.

Vanilco has a total stock of 24 tonne of cure beans and plans to clear it by making value-added products. Vanilco has decided not to procure vanilla in the next harvesting season, as piling up of stocks would be a problem for the company, Jose said.

The next harvesting season will commence by November-December and the output is estimated to rise by 60 per cent over that of the previous season.

Although, the earlier estimates had signalled a 100 per cent increase in output, untimely rainfall had destroyed the crop partially.

The steep fall in prices has also forced growers to abandon the crop in some parts of Kerala. Yet, the total production is estimated in the range of 900 to 1,000 tonne of green beans, he said.

Jose complained that the commerce ministry was adopting a hostile approach to vanilla growers, as there is no response from it over repeated demands of making natural vanilla compulsory in ice cream and bakery products.

A shift of 1 per cent of the total domestic consumption to natural vanilla would save the entire 10,000-plus vanilla growers in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, said Jose.

India's domestic consumption of synthetic vanilla is 650 to 700 tonne per annum and 1 per cent shift to natural vanilla will enable the clearing of oversupply in the market and benefit vanilla growers.

But, the government is not initiating steps in the direction despite repeated requests from farmers' organisations, said Jose.