Agriculture Poor hazelnut harvest: Italy's confectionery industry is trembling
Italian hazelnut production is in crisis. Production has halved due to climate change, drought and pests.
13.10.2025, 12:49
13.10.2025, 12:50
SDA
A production of 70,000 tons is expected, which corresponds to around 50 percent of the national average of recent years. At the same time, the price of hazelnuts has doubled.
The confectionery industry in particular, which is a strong consumer of hazelnuts, is groaning. However, it is also getting cheaper supplies in Turkey, for example.
The Association of Italian Hazelnut Producers is complaining about a black year - but there had already been sharp declines in harvests in 2023 and 2024. This was due to excessively mild winters, heavy rain in spring and drought in summer, which severely affected the harvest of the 95,000 fields planted with hazelnuts in the Piedmont, Lazio and Campania regions.
This weather situation caused the hazelnuts to fall before they had ripened. Italy is the second largest exporter of hazelnuts in the world, behind Turkey and ahead of Georgia.
Asian hazelnut bug threatens harvest
The Asian hazelnut bug is also a growing problem - it damages fruit and reduces both quantity and quality. Many hazelnut plantations in Italy have aged and have not been renewed or rebuilt in time.
Due to the crop failures, the price of hazelnuts is increasing significantly - it is expected that sales prices could be twice as high as in the previous year. There are fears of price increases for end products, particularly chocolate, nut creams and pralines.
Experts warn that manufacturers could be forced to raise prices. At the same time, the proportion of imported hazelnuts, for example from Turkey, is growing.
Farmers are complaining about losses. In the event of severe shortfalls, sales barely cover production costs, which puts many farms in economic difficulties.
30,000 jobs linked to hazelnut production
Italy must therefore rely more heavily on hazelnuts from abroad. Experts warn that this can lead to dependency and weaken domestic agriculture.
According to estimates, more than 30,000 jobs are directly or indirectly linked to hazelnut production in Italy. The industry has a market value of several hundred million euros per year.
Hazelnuts play a key role in the Italian confectionery industry. It is the basic ingredient in many Italian confectionery products, such as chocolates, nut creams and ice creams.
The Italian confectionery manufacturer Ferrero is one of the world's largest buyers of hazelnuts. The company is based in Alba in Piedmont, one of the main hazelnut-growing regions.
