Fans of hazelnut-infused products might want to think about stocking up. Turkey, which supplies 70 percent of the globe's hazelnuts, was hit with severe frosts and hail storms in March, just at the time hazelnut tree flowers were flowering.

 

The price of hazelnuts has risen by 60 percent after Turkey's devastating crop losses in March of this year. Even though the full extent of the damage is not known, the Turkish industry is expecting the hazelnut harvest could be down to 540,000 tons, against pre-frost estimates of over 800,000 tons.

 

The poor harvest in Turkey has boosted the price of hazelnuts to $10,500 a ton from $4,000 a ton last year. Chocolate and snack food businesses like Cadbury, Nutella's Ferrero group and many others are already trying to deal with the price of chocolate, and now, another wrench has been thrown into the machinery of production quotas.

 

The biggest loser in this catastrophe is Ferrero group. Ferrero buys at least 25 percent of the globe's hazelnut crop, and relies on Turkey to supply the 50 hazelnuts that go into each 13 ounce jar of Nutella. Nutella is truly a global product, with factories in Canada, Russia, South America and Europe. Last year, Nutella had sales of $2.46 billion.

 

Hazelnut losses are not the only product important to the mixed nut, chocolate and snack candies industry. These industries have all been impacted with the loss of almond crops in California and coffee crops in Brazil. Another important ingredient that Ferrero uses in making Nutella is palm oil. The palm oil constitutes an astonishing 20 percent of the spread.

 

Regardless of whether or not a consumer eats Nutella, Cadbury chocolate eggs or bunnies, Oreos or Girl Scout cookies, some of the ingredients discussed are going to be in something they buy at the grocery store. Because of the losses of many of these ingredients due to crop failures, consumers can expect prices to rise. Even more importantly is the reason why there were crop losses. around the world are already affecting our food crops. Will it get worse? Maybe yes, and maybe, no.