Hazelnut harvest to begin, price still unknown: Our source of livelihood has dried up

İlayda Sorku

Only a few days remain until the hazelnut harvest, which directly affects eight million people. However, the Turkish Grain Board (TMO) has yet to determine the purchase price for shelled hazelnuts for the 2025/2026 season. The delay in announcing the price, which was expected to be revealed in July, has created uncertainty among farmers ahead of the harvest, which is set to begin on 4 August. Following last year's base purchase price of 130 TL, which was lower than the 160 TL requested, farmers are not hopeful for this year either.

Farmers speaking to BirGün said that this year's frost and damage caused by the brown marmorated stink bug had reduced hazelnut yields, while costs had risen significantly compared to last year. Many farmers said that costs had exceeded 200 Turkish lira. Their demand is clear: at least 280 Turkish lira.

‘The same old game is being played every year,’ said hazelnut producer Resul Şahin. ‘They keep the harvest high to buy the producers’ products cheaply. This year, frost hit the higher elevations. I am also a victim of frost; my hazelnuts are completely destroyed. However, there is some yield in certain varieties we call ‘çakıldak’ hazelnuts. Our estimate is that this year there will be at most 250,000 tons of hazelnuts, and we may not even reach that. 400,000 tons is a completely exaggerated figure. They are doing this deliberately to buy hazelnuts cheaply. Even if there are 250-300,000 tons of hazelnuts this year, there will be significant losses due to the pest.”

CAN'T MAKE ENDS MEET

Pointing out that hazelnuts generate 152 billion dollars in revenue worldwide, Şahin said, "Only 2.5 billion dollars of this money enters Turkey. This is a strategic product. It is of vital importance to the people of this region. People here are watching it closely. Our fathers raised us and educated us with the money they earned from hazelnuts. Hazelnuts mean life. But the Ministry has no policy for such a strategic product. Farmers are being exploited every year; the way out is through organisation.”

Cemil Ceylan, who reported that the cost had reached 190 lira, said, "Our demand is 280 lira, but to be honest, I don't expect much from this government. They announced a high harvest and then gradually reduced it. In the past, announcing the harvest was solely within the authority of the Ministry of Agriculture. Now, companies that hold a significant share in the global hazelnut and fruit trade announce the harvest they want, in the country they want. They don’t ask anyone. The announced harvest is very high; it’s a figure announced to lower the value of the product. There’s no such hazelnut in reality. It doesn’t exist in this country. I don’t know if they’ll bring it from somewhere else. If they find it, let them bring it.”

Ceylan, who said he was sending two children to school, said, “Personally, I couldn’t make a living from hazelnuts. I couldn't send my two children to school with 4-5 tons of hazelnuts. I worked in other jobs to send them to school. Hazelnuts used to support farmers. In the Black Sea region, farmers built their houses, bought land, held weddings and funerals with hazelnuts. But today, farmers can't make ends meet. The root cause of what is happening today lies in the privatisation decisions."

LIVING IN DEBT

Cemal Çetin stated that if hazelnuts are sold for less than 300 liras, farmers will not earn a single penny, saying, "We only rely on hazelnuts. We have nothing else. Hazelnuts are our only source of income. We worked really hard this year.

We fought hard and did everything we could to produce. But unfortunately, we are not getting anything in return. There is no chance of making a living; farmers have been living in debt for years.” Çetin said that farmers are at the mercy of the market, adding, “The government handed this business over to the private sector. We are not happy with this system. They make it look like there is a good hazelnut harvest, but in reality, there isn't.”

Right now, if you go into the orchard, you’ll see five hazelnuts, and only two of them are full. You’ll pick them, open them up; two will be good, three will be mouldy, empty, rotten. Where is this product? Where is the announced harvest? I can’t find words to say to those who don’t see this.”

THE SAME SCENARIO FOR YEARS

Hazelnut producers have been suffering from the minimum purchase prices announced for years. The prices announced for years have remained below the farmers' expectations. This situation forces farmers to sell at a loss, while brokers and exporters turn a profit. The figures since 2020 clearly reveal this cycle.

COSTS KEPT GOING UP

According to the hazelnut cost chart from the Farmers' Union (Çiftçi-Sen), the total cost of production on one decare of land is 18,311 Turkish lira. This cost includes items related to cultivation and harvesting. Under the heading of cultivation expenses, labour costs such as pruning, cutting off the lower shoots, and transportation amount to 2,550 TL; the total cost for lime application is 347 TL (including materials, labour, and transportation); and the cost of animal fertiliser, compost, and nitrogen fertiliser, along with labour and transportation costs, amounted to 3,223 TL. The cost of pesticides, including the price of the pesticides and labour, amounted to 1,500 TL. Together with other items, the total cost of the cultivation process reached 8,610 TL. Harvesting costs, including the use of mechanical reapers, collection, transportation, and threshing labour, were recorded as 8,740 TL.

Additionally, pre-sales expenses such as marketing, transportation, and tool and equipment costs are included in this category. Furthermore, a 9% capital interest rate of 786 TL and a 3% general management expense of 544 TL were reflected. When the area-based, fertiliser, and fuel subsidies paid to producers, amounting to only 370 TL, are deducted from the total, the net cost is 18,311 TL. According to this calculation, the production cost of one kilogram of hazelnuts is 183 TL.

Çiftçi-Sen stated that this year's frost, drought, and the impact of the brown marmorated stink bug would reduce the harvest by 40–50%, yet price pressure in the market would persist. It was noted that a 25% profit margin and a 25% living wage should be added to the cost for farmers to continue operations. They emphasized that the purchase price should be at least 280 TL.

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Fındık hasadı başlayacak, fiyat ortada yok: Yaşam kaynağımız kurudu, published in BirGün newspaper on August 2, 2025.