The price of ice cream could rise this summer as the global price of vanilla soar.

Poor harvests in Madagascar, one of the world's main suppliers of vanilla pods, could push up ice cream prices.

According to the The Grocer, the cost of vanilla has risen by 130% to more than £150 per kg in the last year as a result of a substandard harvest in 2014 and a low yield in 2013.

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

Harry Rao, a director of Vanillamart, a firm that imports vanilla pods, told The Times: "Madagascar always dictates prices. It's not a controlled market; a few big suppliers dictate the prices

"The cost of vanilla tends to rise quickly but fall very slowly."