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Hazelnuts: at regions, farmers started collecting the nut

August 24, 2017 at 4:15 PM , Starry Night Ltd.
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Harvest started at a slower rate. Farmers will be collecting the crop till the middle of October.

SOFIA. At the beginning of the season last year, organic kernels could be found for 12.00 – 13.00 EUR/kg while their conventional counterparts sold for 8.00 - 8.50 EUR/kg. The year was a disaster, but it was not so much the weather, but the available quantities of locally grown hazelnuts that drove the price high. The bad weather came as a further excuse for the high price.

Hazelnuts: harvest started at some orchards

Depending on the region, some farmers started collecting the crop.  Generally, they will be collecting hazelnuts till the middle of October, provided the weather permits it; if not, they could go into November as it happened last season. Till the end of August, agro-metrological conditions are favorable for collecting the crop since the days will be characterized by high temperatures, with only some sporadic rains over the country.

Farms come short in meeting local demand

Nationwide, the crop is becoming more of a lucrative alternative of investment among local farmers. Throughout the recent years, more farmers have invested into the cultivation of acreages of hazelnut orchards. In the past, some of them seem to have done it with a single purpose – government subsidy. The rest, who grow their own independent orchards of some hectares, do it because of the profit motif. As a result, every year local supply is small and always fails to meet domestic demand; as a consequence of which prices are always high!

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