A number of British ice cream producers are understood to be considering whether to stop buying vanilla extract because of the soaring cost.

Julie Fisher, who founded artisanal ice-cream maker Ruby Violet seven years ago, told the BBC vanilla was off the menu in her London-based outlets “for the foreseeable future” because she can’t afford the thousands of pounds it would cost.

The price has quadrupled in just a few months, commodities analyst Julian Gale told the BBC.

A kilogram of vanilla pods now sells for more than £440 ($600), making it more expensive than silver.

Madagascar produces 80% of the world’s vanilla but decreased its production after a cyclone in March last year damaged a lot of plantations.

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