Trabzon Commodity Exchange Assembly President Sebahattin Arslantürk said, “I think the pandemic will have a negative impact on the next season rather than this season in terms of hazelnut exports.”
Stating that there may be a decline in exports, Arslantürk explained, “Decreasing of the yield will also minimize negative effects on prices. We will enter the new season at the price requested by the producer. Agricultural activities affect the product. While we had around 800 thousand tons of crops last year, 650 thousand tons of crops appear this season.”
Emphasizing that hazelnut exports has exceeded the target, Arslantürk added, “We broke a record in 2019 exports. We also achieved the seasonal target of the crop. Hazelnut has now broken the all-time record. There was a contraction in hazelnut consumption in the pastry sector. Hazelnut was also adversely affected by the pastry sector due to the pandemic. We expect the state to fulfill its promise that we will protect hazelnuts. It should be ensured that TMO (Turkish Grain Board) determines the price of hazelnuts and see people in front of them to go to the garden. This should be done as soon as possible. The price should be announced in the second half of July at the latest.”