(Bloomberg) -- Madagascar’s key vanilla-producing region has taken a direct hit from a tropical storm that made landfall on the Indian Ocean island’s north eastern coast on Wednesday.

The region, which produces around 80% of the world’s vanilla beans, was being hammered by heavy rain and wind gusts of up to 125 kilometer per hour by Cyclone Gamane, the nation’s meteorological services said.

The storm is hitting vanilla farmers already battling depressed prices, which have fallen steeply this year.

“It’s bad times for vanilla,” said Georges Geeraerts, president of the country’s vanilla export association. Vanilla is a main source of foreign currency for the Madagascar.

--With assistance from Matthew Hill.

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