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Press release…
Şemsi Bayraktar, Head of the Union of Turkish Agricultural Chambers (TZOB), evaluated the hazelnut harvest and the expectations of the farmers with a press release.
Pointing out that hazelnut harvest time has come, Bayraktar said, “In the Black Sea Region, producers, industrialists, merchants, traders, exporters, tradesmen, greengrocers, all Black Sea people are waiting for the hazelnut purchase price to be announced.”
Turkish hazelnut is now a ‘World Product’
“Our country realises 64 percent of the world hazelnut production. There is a 7.7-fold production difference between us and Italy, the closest producer country. If we do not produce hazelnuts, the world chocolate industry will come to a standstill. Because other products can be tried in chocolate, but the taste and aroma of hazelnuts, especially Turkish hazelnuts, cannot be captured,” Bayraktar noted.
Indicating that the two countries to which Türkiye exports hazelnuts the most are Germany and Italy, Bayraktar explained, “These two countries, which import hazelnuts from our country, process and market them all over the world. They earn many times more than the income earned by our country. However, in these countries, it is not discussed how much the hazelnut is or will be, but how the value-added products produced can be sold more to the whole world.”
“Our country exports 80-85 per cent of hazelnut production. When we look at the relationship between production and exports, it is seen that they are parallel to each other. We export a lot in the year we produce a lot and less in the year we produce less, but we always maintain this export rate. When we put an average of 110 thousand tonnes of domestic market consumption on this export, it is seen that we consume almost as much hazelnut as we produce. We do not have hazelnuts in stock. This situation is also clearly seen from the stock statistics of the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT),” Bayraktar added.
“The future of Turkish hazelnut depends on the renewal of gardens”
Highlighting that the effects of climate change in hazelnuts are also a separate factor, Bayraktar concluded, “There are also shifts in harvest dates. Changes and increases in diseases and pests caused by climate change also have a serious impact on yield. Our country should implement solution-oriented practices to enhance yield as soon as possible.Gardens that have completed their economic life should be dismantled and new gardens should be created in their place. A support model similar to the renewal compensation applied in the tea product should be developed and implemented for the hazelnut product.”
