Turkey earns nearly $1.8 bln in hazelnut exports during season

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

Turkey sold nearly 287,000 tons of hazelnuts abroad during export season, making $1.78 billion in revenue, a national union of exporters said on Sept. 3. 

The export volume between September 2017 and August 2018 saw a 21.6 percent jump in the same period from a year earlier, the Black Sea Hazelnut and Products Exporters’ Union (KFMİB) announced.

KFMİB chair Edip Sevinç said hazelnut exports have great importance for Turkey because the sector provides foreign currency inflow and the country does not need to import anything in this regard.

“The hazelnut sector is also irreplaceable due to the employment it provides in the Black Sea region of Turkey,” he added.

Around 75 percent of Turkey’s hazelnut exports in this season were made to EU countries, amounting to around $1.3 billion.

Despite the growing sales volume, the value of exports dropped by 5.3 percent as compared to the same period of the previous season, according to the union’s statistics.

The country exported nearly 236,000 tons of hazelnuts and earned $1.88 billion during the entire 2016-2017 export season.

Turkey is the world’s largest hazelnut exporter.