Price of spice: Vanilla surge fuels wild times

SAVA REGION, Madagascar - Hit by rampant speculation and a collapse in production following cyclone Enawo, the price of vanilla - Madagascar's largest export - has surged in recent months.

Ice cream, aromatherapy, perfume and haute cuisine: all use the spice sourced from the Indian Ocean island which accounts for about 80 percent of global production.

The sudden cash bonanza has threatened to fuel crime and slash quality.