Synthetic vanilla on trial
The Malagasy vanilla sector is carefully observing the wave of lawsuits initiated last year in the United States by consumer associations against food manufacturers for false advertising.. These firms are accused of misusing the term “vanilla” for products incorporating synthetic vanillin. Selon Georges Geeraerts, the president of the Group of Vanilla Exporters in Madagascar interviewed by Radio France International, “the interest of these trials is to return to a certain sincerity of industrialists. We can have a whole series of different products, but these differences must be clearly marked and completely identifiable by the consumer..
The IMF releases $312 million
Madagascar will benefit from $312 million in financing from the International Monetary Fund under an extended credit facility which will be spread over 40 months, recently announced the funder. These sums should help the country mitigate the impact of the pandemic and relaunch reforms aimed at supporting growth and reducing poverty.. In 2020, the Malagasy state had already obtained two emergency financing amounts from the IMF of 166 million and 172 million dollars. Due to the health crisis, the Big Island recorded a 4% recession last year.
