THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
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The President of Ordu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OTSO), Servet Şahin, said that the foreign currency income from hazelnut exports has increased.
Şahin said, “The hazelnut, which generates 2 billion dollars a year, will increase to 10 billion dollars in the next 5 years thanks to the Far East market.”
Stating that hazelnut is accepted as an industrial product, not a natural one, and its price is increasing day by day, Şahin noted, “Hazelnut will be sold as an industrial product, not a natural one. TMO (Turkish Grain Board) purchased the hazelnut from 16 TL. Now hazelnut prices have increased around 24 TL, that is, 40 percent spike in hazelnut prices. Wholesale roasted hazelnuts are sold abroad for 250 TL and for retail 300 TL. The value of hazelnut should be 5 dollars but this year we expect it to be 4 dollars.”
“Hazelnut will now be sold as an industrial product”
Indicating that a significant income will be obtained from hazelnuts, Şahin added, “Last year we earned 1.5 billion dollars from hazelnuts in 12 months and this year we earned 2 billion dollars in 9 months. This shows that now hazelnuts will be sold as industrial products. When we sell our hazelnuts as industrial products, not natural, the income from hazelnuts will be doubled. In the next 5 years, we will generate 10 billion dollars of income from our hazelnut product.”
“We will turn our face to the East in Hazelnut”
Emphasizing that hazelnut will gain value if it is successful in the Far East market, Şahin concluded, “We will now return to the East, not Europe, in hazelnut. If we sell one-third or half of our hazelnuts to the eastern market when we return to the Turkic Republics, India and China, the value of our hazelnuts will definitely be 5-6 dollars. When we turn to the eastern market, it will add value to the value of hazelnut. I hope that the hazelnut price will not fall below 4 dollars this year.”
