‘We’re pulling out’ bluff is a price manipulation

Gökay Başcan

Turkey, a world leader in hazelnut trade, has suffered a significant crop loss due to low yields, agricultural frost, and the brown marmorated stink bug. This year alone, 250,000 tonnes of crop were lost. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute's (TÜİK) second estimate for 2025 crop production, a 38.5% loss in hazelnut harvest is expected compared to 2024.

While producers whose hazelnuts dried on the tree suffered, Ferrero's “we are withdrawing” move began to drive prices down. Producers and farmers' organisations stated that the withdrawal decision was a manipulation to lower prices. The AKP government, which remained silent in the face of Ferrero's move, once again abandoned producers to the control of monopolies.

Neoliberal policies pursued in agriculture since the decisions of 24 January 1980 have deprived producers of their right to have a say. Strategic products, such as hazelnuts, which are important items in world exports, have fallen under the control of monopolies with state support. Ferrero, the Italian giant with a monopoly in the market, took advantage of the state's silence to take over the market and become the sole decision-maker in hazelnuts. Producers, who had been oppressed by monopolies for many years and were unable to cultivate their land, were now faced with the company's threat to “stop buying”.

PRODUCERS CRUSHED

Although the Grain Board (TMO) purchases a portion of the hazelnuts, the vast majority are under the control of traders and Ferrero. The TMO has set the price for Giresun quality hazelnuts at 200 lira per kilogram and 195 lira per kilogram for Levant quality hazelnuts for the 2025-2026 season. According to calculations made by the Farmers' Union (Çiftçi-Sen), the average cost of producing one kilogram of hazelnuts is 180 lira, while the TMO has offered producers a profit of only 15 lira per kilogram. Farmers have thus been crushed once again by the AKP.

While frost damage, pests and the resulting low harvest in the region caused prices to rise slightly, Ferrero made a new move. The Italian giant, which earns billions from producers every year, announced that it was halting its hazelnut purchases from Turkey. While the government remained silent about this manipulation by the company to lower prices, Competition Authority President Küle stated, ‘Ferrero's fulfilment of its commitments is a necessity both in terms of commercial ethics and the Turkish public.’

Speaking to BirGün on behalf of Çiftçi-Sen, Cemil Ceylan said, ‘Ferrero is not withdrawing from the market. They are making billions from producers; would they abandon such a golden goose? Their aim is to manipulate prices downwards.’ Ceylan recalled that just 3-4 years ago, with state support, they built integrated facilities and warehouses in Düzce worth $670 million. Ceylan stated that with Özal, the production economy gave way to a liberal economy and the producer cooperative bond was severed, adding, "They told the cooperatives, 'You will become companies. Fiskobirlik resisted, and nothing was spared. The structure that bought the producer's product and guaranteed the price was broken. The producer was left at the mercy of multinational food companies. They handed them over to imperialist monopolies on a silver platter."

LEFT PARTY: THE SOLUTION IS PUBLIC OWNERSHIP!

LEFT Party issued a statement regarding Ferrero's move. In the statement titled ‘Not corporate monopoly, but public ownership in hazelnuts,’ it said, "Ferrero, which has been using its monopoly power in Black Sea hazelnut production to manipulate hazelnut markets and exploit hazelnut producers, is now suddenly withdrawing from the market without taking responsibility. This situation is not only the result of this monopolistic company but also the indifference of public power, which has been dismantled by neoliberal policies, towards producers."

The statement noted that producers are struggling alone with many problems, such as declining yields and rising input prices, adding:  "The livelihood of hazelnut producers, who account for 70 per cent of world hazelnut production, cannot be left to the mercy of an international monopoly. The state must take a clear stance on both combating pests and on purchasing and pricing policies in hazelnut production. It was stated that ‘if the public sector does not establish this mechanism to provide security to walnut producers, the result will be disengagement from production and regional destruction for the Black Sea region."

The statement continued with the following remarks: "Hazelnuts, the livelihood of the Black Sea region and Turkey's most strategic agricultural product, cannot be left to the whims of multinational monopolies. The state's duty is not to satisfy the market but to protect producers. Public purchasing power in hazelnuts must be re-established, and price determination must be ensured through the organised power of producers. FİSKOBİRLİK, which has been systematically rendered dysfunctional, must be restructured to become a guarantee for producers. The free market and foreign monopoly dominance created after the liquidation of public power must be ended. FİSKOBİRLİK must play a decisive role in the purchasing, storage, export and pricing processes. Hazelnut production is the livelihood of millions of people. We will not accept the fate of hazelnuts being left to the whims of two words uttered by monopolistic companies."

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled ‘Çekiliyoruz’ blöfü fiyat manipülasyonu, published in BirGün newspaper on November 5, 2025.