Chinese news network reports from Sambava
Coinciding with the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in 2024, journalists from China Central Television (CCTV) visited Sambava and its vanilla production areas, and reported on trade between China and Madagascar.English transcript
This year, the African of country Madagascar participated in the CIIE for the first time and brought special products such as vanilla essential oil to the national exhibition. Madagascar's vanilla production and export volume account for about two-thirds of the world's total market, so Madagascar is also recognised as the world's vanilla kingdom.
Today, we will visit the origin of imported products in the SAVA region in the northeast of the country to visit the local vanilla planting industry.Thanks to the unique geographical environment and the tropical rainforest climate with abundant rainfall, the SAVA region, located on the northeastern coast of Madagascar, not only has the most dense and best-preserved virgin forest in Madagascar, but is also an important production area of the natural spice plant vanilla. There are many vanilla plantations near Sambava, the capital of the region.
I am now in a vanilla plantation in Sambava, Madagascar.From September to December each year is the time for vanilla flowers to bloom and pollinate. The flowers only bloom once a year and are quite fragile.
They must be artificially pollinated in the cool morning hours. If this time is missed, the flowers will wither, which means that the vanilla beans cannot be harvested, and we are guilty of waste control.
We run on the hand-pollination. First, we have to open the female and the male part, is inside, but you have to lift up and press slightly. And it's done.After seven or ten days, it starts to be a pod.
You have to wait nine months until the beans are ready to harvest.In the harvest season, the vanilla beans will be picked manually and quickly sent for processing. After killing, drying and other procedures,
workers also have to classify according to the moisture content, colour and quality of the vanilla. Some tasters have commented that Madagascar's vanilla has a sweet and creamy flavour with subtle floral and fruity aromas. It is this unique flavour that makes Madagascar vanilla famous.
There is also a vanilla-themed museum in Sambava. Here, you can not only learn about the history of vanilla planting and processing technology, but also buy very distinctive vanilla-themed products.Madagascar participated in the national exhibition for the first time at this CIIE to showcase its comprehensive image and characteristic advantages.
The industry expects that China's vast market will bring new opportunities for Madagascar's vanilla and other speciality products.
In China, it's a big, big market, and I expect that the demand will increase for our vanilla farmers and local people, and for our economy.
As it is our first time to highlight our country in an exhibition at the CIIF, China has a big part of the world market,
and Madagascar and China, as we have good relations so far, we want to expand our economic China market.Video and photos courtesy of CCTV.com.
Further information links to original Chinese publications on CCTV.com:
- CCTV reporters visit the production area (video and text summary, 4th November 2024)
- Madagascar, the "Kingdom of Vanilla", participated in the CIIE exhibition (video, 5th November 2024)
