www.cifnews.com learned from Sing Tao Daily that in 2014 Turkey, the hometown of hazel nuts, suffered from bitter cold and frost injury, causing large rise of hazel nut price and chaos in chocolate industry.

　　Turkey, supplying 70% hazel nuts to the world, is affected by climate factors in 2014. The output declined 28% to 480,000 ton and the price doubled. The price is 14 Turkish Liras (about 6.27 USD) per kg, so that the buyers strive to seek sources of hazel nuts before the peak period of chocolate during Christmas and New Year.

　　Mr. Dite Van Clief, the President of Euro-American Brands, the US Agent of Ritter Sport Chocolate, said that if the price of hazel nuts could be lower, they may suffer less. 

The best sellers of Ritter Sport Chocolate in US are the black chocolate containing the entire hazel nut and milk chocolate covering an entire hazel nut, the annual sales of which account for 40% of total sales in US. Mr. Dite Van Clief said that the hazel nuts in both of these two star products are all from Turkey. Coping with the cost rise of hazel nuts, the company planned to increase the selling price of all Ritter Sport products since December 2014.

　　As reported by Commercial Times, when the global chocolate manufacturers are caught in the gloom of rising price of hazel nuts, the best winner will be the hazel nut farmers in Turkey. Mr. Adam Johnston, the trade of Freeworld Trading said the Turkish hazel nuts suppliers stock up the products, and when price rises, they prefer to reduce supply and try to make a killing when the price rises further.

　　Hershey’s, the largest chocolate retail supplier in US announced in July 2014 that it would increase 8% selling price of most products based on cost inflation of raw materials such as coco and hazel nuts. For the expected profits made in October 2014, the predicted income may only grow about 4.75%, and EPS may rise about 8%. Compared with the former prediction, the profit may reach the lower level of 5% - 7% long-term objective, and the EPS is at the lower level of 9% - 11% of the objective.

By contrast, Ferrero, the largest buyer of global hazel nut is free from the affection caused by hazel nut price fluctuation. Ferrero, the Italian chocolate manufacturer, said the raw material price fluctuation is normal, and the company is capable to cope with short of raw materials. The consumers can continue to get their products. In order to stabilize the hazel nut sources, Ferrero bought Turkey Oltan Group, the largest hazel nut manufacturer in the world, in July this year. 

International Nut and Dried Fruit Council said that Turkey has faced frost injury in 2004 and 2011. However, the climate in 2014 is more severe and the short of hazel nuts is more serious. In former years, the market always has some stocks which have not been sold in the previous year to make up the short in case of bad corp. but in 2013, the output of hazel nut is at a general level, and there is no surplus stock to meet the large demand in 2014.