The Central Bank of Madagascar received 1 ton of gold, which was refined as per the London Bullion Market Association’s benchmarks, earlier this month. That marked the first step for the Antananarivo-based monetary authority to diversify its reserves. A substantial proportion of the gold comes from domestic small-scale miners, said Governor Aivo Andrianarivelo. The economy of the world’s fourth-largest island is largely dependent on vanilla, used in chocolates and perfumes. The spice accounted for 15% of exports in 2022. Overseas sales of the pods plunged 87% to $28.8 million in the three months to December. That in part resulted in the nation’s foreign-exchange reserves dropping 6.3% to $2.13 billion at the end of last year, enough for 4.3 months of imports. Madagascar is one of 10 countries considered most vulnerable to climate risks, according to the 2020 Global Climate Risk Index. Droughts are expected to become increasingly severe in the nation famous for its lemurs. That makes it key for the government to diversify its exports and boost foreign-exchange reserves.