Turkey, the world’s largest hazelnut producer, is facing price speculations. While the price of 1 kilogram of double roasted hazelnuts has hit TL 100 ($40.93).
Hazelnut Promotion Group (FTG) President Ilyas Edip Sevinc told Anadolu Agency that the increasing prices are quite normal considering last year’s hazelnut crops were devastated by freezing weather. “This is known as supply-demand equilibrium and the hazelnut market will find its own balance. In 2012, we had witnessed one kilogram of roasted hazelnuts being sold at TL 12.
When the crops decreased by half last year, speculations started to intensify but the prices will decrease naturally because no one can afford hazelnuts at TL 100 per kilogram. There is no chance for those prices to continue like this.”
In addition to stating that 15 percent of Turkey’s hazelnut production is reserved for the domestic market, Sevinc noted that another reason for the increasing prices in the domestic market is increasing export prices. He said that hazelnut exports are expected to break records by reaching $3 billion by the end of this year, and this is related to the supply-demand equilibrium in the hazelnut industry throughout the world. Sevinc also highlighted that hazelnut prices are high all over the world, not just in Turkey.
Istanbul Hazelnut and Hazelnut Products Exporters’ Association President Ali Haydar Goren stressed that last year’s crops fell from 850,000 tons to 450,000 tons because of the harsh frost. Goren emphasized that hazelnuts would find price stability by the end of this year and it would continue to contribute to the Turkish economy at record levels. Additionally, 85 percent of the hazelnuts in the domestic market are used in the chocolate industry, which demonstrates that not only consumers but also chocolate producers are under heavy burden because of the high prices. Moreover, Goren added that hazelnut producers did not generate any income from the higher prices.
Turkey is the largest producer of hazelnuts in the world with nearly 75 percent of worldwide production. The country earned $2.3 billion from hazelnut exports in 2014, FTG announced on January 4, 2015, and many of the world famous chocolate companies look to Turkey for their hazelnut supply. Italian chocolate giant Nutella, for example, bought hazelnuts valued at $800 million from Turkey last year and the sale of Turkey’s biggest hazelnut producer Oltan Gıda to Nutella maker Ferrero was approved by authorities a few months ago. Moreover, to boost the brand value of Turkish hazelnuts, FTG signed a new deal with the U.S.-based company Compartes, a company that offers its services to Hollywood stars.
Source Daily Sabah
