And finally…pocket money to take a licking with ice cream prices set to soar

A poor harvest in Madagascar, one of the world’s main suppliers of vanilla pods, has set the world on stand-by for a summer ice cream price hike.

A substandard harvest last year, on top of a low yield in 2013, has meant that the price of vanilla has risen by 130 per cent to more than £150 per kg over the past 12 months, according to The Grocer.

Industry specialists said that demand for the ingredient in foreign markets, including Asia, has driven up prices.

Rising personal incomes on the Asian continent means that more people are able to spend money on luxuries — including vanilla ices, analysts said.

Even if production levels recover, it is likely that prices will remain high.

Harry Rao, a director of Vanillamart, an importer of vanilla pods, said: “Madagascar always dictates prices. It’s not a controlled market; a few big suppliers dictate the prices.”