Hazelnuts: Expectations are for a strong season
July 31, 2017 at 9:28 AM ,
Starry Night Ltd.
Hazelnuts: small output, high prices
SOFIA. Last season, a few factors affected the high price of hazelnuts. First, it was the shortage of locally grown hazelnuts and second, it was the quality of the crop. The weather was the main culprit for lowering the output last season, because due to early warm weather conditions, the tree’s bud opened much earlier in the season. Later on, unexpected, but persistent frosts hit the bud, and as a result, totally devastated the formation of a well-rounded kernel. A case in point: a shell looked nice from the outside, but once broken, it was empty; the same was the case with walnuts!
Buyers preferred to buy in kernel instead of in shell. Moreover, when the time came to collect nuts from trees, rains extended the harvesting period of the crop, and as a consequence, its presence on the market was belated. Well matured organic hazelnut kernels started as high as 12.00 EUR/kg EXW Bulgaria in some regions. The local market easily accepted the price since quantities were small.
Prospects are quite encouraging so far in the year
However, so far in the year, weather conditions have been quite favorable for the development of the nut; even the recent hailstorms did not damage the crop! Every year, aggregate output of hazelnuts in Bulgaria increases because more and more farmers allocate substantial acreages of land for the growth of the crop; except when the season is weak because of adverse weather conditions.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, output of harvest 2014-15 was estimated at 165 mt – collected from 419 ha (yield of 394kg/ha) – while that of harvest 2015-16 reached 361 mt – collected from 496 ha (yield of 728kg/ha). If the weather allows it, this year’s aggregate output is expected to be much higher than that of season 2015-16. Anyhow, even higher, the majority of hazelnuts on the domestic market is imported from Turkey.
View related articles
