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Hazelnuts: Organic means a high price premium

September 24, 2017 at 2:26 PM , Starry Night Ltd.
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SOFIA. Throughout the years, farmers have oriented themselves to focus more on organically grown hazelnuts. The rational is easily explained: the profit motif and the unquenched local demand.

BULGARIA. Every year, planted acreages with hazelnuts increase, although the country is yet far away to satisfy its own domestic demand. According to the most recent data, released by the Ministry of Agriculture, the country harvested 544 ha of hazelnuts in 2016, which is 9.7% higher than those of last year, although last season was weak for the nut sector. Cultivated hectares are meager to satisfy local demand as the majority of imports on a yearly basis come from Turkey.

Hazelnuts: on focus is organic cultivation

However, one thing is prevalent among local farmers: the great majority of them cultivate organic hazelnuts since the price premium is so high. The taste and crispiness of locally grown organic kernels are what keep the demand so high, which in turn influences the price.

Organic kernels are mainly domestically sold since the international market shuns the high local price. That is not a concern for local farmers at all right now since the supply is meager while the demand is so high. As long as the gap between supply and demand is so huge, farmers have incentives to cultivate more organic orchards since if they turn to conventional, they face difficulties competing against Turkish hazelnuts on the domestic market, let alone on foreign ones.

Therefore, the locally grown organic hazelnut will dominate the market unless imported organic kernels, offered at lower prices, do not make their way through. So far, only conventional Turkish hazelnuts dominate the domestic market.

Organic hazelnuts, Bulgaria

Type

EUR/kg

in shell

3.75

natural kernels 9-11

11.22

natural kernels 11-13

11.22

natural kernels 13-15

11.22

EXW Bulgaria

   

 Hazelnuts, Bulgaria

Type

EUR/kg

in shell

2.68

natural kernels 9-11

8.40

natural kernels 11-13

8.40

natural kernels 13-15

8.40

EXW Bulgaria

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