Free of charge

Hazelnuts: currency issues

November 27, 2023 at 10:40 AM , Der AUDITOR
Play report as audio

ORDU. Turkey’s central bank took economists by surprise in hiking the key interest rate by 500 basis points to 40% on Thursday. Hazelnuts are profiting from a strong euro.

Demand at stake

Alarm bells may have been ringing over demand in September, but as it turned out buyers were only observing a soaring market with prices touching TRY 110/kg for in-shell hazelnuts without rushing into decisions. As exporters report demand has been strong since October when prices returned to more normal levels largely driven by Ferrero’s revised offer over TRY 95/kg for in-shell hazelnuts, which helped to reign in manipulations. Opinions are, however, still divided as to the crop size with guesstimates ranging anywhere between an absurdly low 450,000 mt to 700,000 mt.

Demand is still good, especially in the East. In Europe Turkey has, however, lost valuable market shares to other producing countries including Azerbaijan and the USA. Yet, the strong US dollar and euro have played into exporters’ hands as they were able to lower their prices a bit in November. The prices for in-shell hazelnuts in Levant quality are fluctuating at TRY 92-94/kg and natural hazelnut kernels, size 11-13 mm, are trading at EUR 6.49/kg (USD 7.10/kg) DAP Central Europe.

Hazelnuts, Turkey

Type

EUR/kg

USD/kg

Natural, 11-13 mm

6.49

7.10

Natural, 13-15 mm

6.65

7.28

Meal, 0-2 mm

7.20

7.88

Diced, 2-4 mm

6.15

6.73

Paste

4.55

4.98

DAP Central Europe

Shift in economic policy

Although taken by surprise, economists have applauded the central banks decision to raise the key interest rate by 500 basis points to 40%, whereas prior expectations only hinged at 250 basis points. Impression is that the bank is determined to bring the country’s soaring inflation, which stood at 61% in October, under control by issuing the sixth increase in a series of interest rate hikes. The lira has lost 35% against the US dollar since last year and more than 85% of its value in the last five years largely driven by president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s unorthodox policies that have left people to struggle with a horrendous cost of living crisis.

 

View more
- price chart, hazelnut kernels, natural, Turkey
- price charts for edible nuts, dried fruit, oilseeds and more

Attached Files

File icon
price chart hazelnut kernels natural Turkey

View related articles

Go to the News Overview
Nuts
Oct 9, 2026
NEW DELHI/DODOMA. El Niño has prompted the season to start earlier than usual in Tanzania. In India, the market is getting ready for the next festival season.
Nuts
Oct 9, 2026
GAZIANTEP. Reliable crop estimates are lacking for pistachios in Turkey. Quality is an issue. Farmers are far from happy with the current price developments.
Nuts
Oct 8, 2026
BEIJING. As the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service’s Tree Nuts Annual for China highlights, the country will remain one of the world’s leading markets for tree nuts. Changing consumer habits offer new market potentials amid a challenging trading environment and high costs. Expanding domestic production and economic challenges will, however, restrain the import demand for most US tree nuts in MY 2026/2027, with the noted exception of almonds.
Nuts
Oct 8, 2026
ORDU. In Turkey, the wide gap between free market prices and the TMO for hazelnuts is still giving rise to questions. The TMO and Ferrero have rejected large volumes. Demand is also an issue.