What do hail storms in Turkey have to do with the supply of Nutella at your local grocery store? A lot, actually. Hazelnut prices are away up due to a worldwide shortage. Ferrero, the company that makes Nutella, uses about 25% of the hazelnuts in the world. It and simplified its supply chain this year by acquiring a major hazelnut processor, Oltan in Turkey.

Of course, it’s not just Nutella: Fererro also makes plenty of chocolates with hazelnuts. Ferrero Group is best known to Americans for making the unhealthy choco-hazelnut spread Nutella, or maybe for the Ferrero Rocher, a popular candy that also contains hazelnuts. They need a lot of hazelnuts, and with supplies low and prices more than doubling this spring, it makes sense to acquire secure a hazelnut source.

As we’ve told you before, the components necessary to make a single jar of Nutella come from all over the world. azelnuts are grown in the Middle East and parts of Europe, as well as some grown in the United States. Turkey has historically been a source for the nuts, and in a press release, Ferrero praised Oltan’s “historical, valuable, and consolidated presence in the Turkish hazelnut market.”

Nutella Hogs Hazelnuts to Meet the World’s Insatiable Craving for Chocolaty Goodness [Businessweek]

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