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Top Hazelnuts Exports & Imports by Country Plus Average Prices

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Hazelnuts in shell
Hazelnuts in shell
In 2022, exports of hazelnuts were worth a total US$1.8 billion.

Exports of hazelnuts increased in value by an overall average 8.5% since 2018 when export sales for hazelnuts were $1.65 billion.

From 2021 to 2022, worldwide export revenues for the toasty and earthy tasting seed shrank by -25.1% starting from $2.4 billion.

Alternately called cobnuts or filberts, hazelnuts seeds come from the fruits of hazel trees.

Hazelnuts are used to make candy pralines, chocolate truffles and hazelnut paste products including tortes, cakes and other sweet desserts. Hazelnuts are also key ingredients of flavoring ingredients, pastes and powders.

By value, the 5 biggest exporters of hazelnuts (Türkiye, Italy, United States of America, Chile and Azerbaijan) sold 84.9% of all hazelnuts exported during 2022.

Applying a continental perspective, countries in Asia supplied the highest dollar worth of exported hazelnuts during 2022 with shipments valued at $1.2 billion or 66.2% of the global total. In second place were exporters in Europe (19%) trailed by those in suppliers in North America (8%), Latin America (6.7%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Africa (0.02%), and Oceania (0.02%) led by Australia.

Shifting our focus to imports, the 5 leading importers of hazelnuts in 2022 were buyers in Germany, Italy, France, Canada and the Russian Federation. Combined, that quintet of top import countries bought over two-thirds (67.4%) of globally imported hazelnuts as measured by dollar value.

The above percentages suggest the 70-something exporters of hazelnuts (84.9% for the corresponding top 5 exporters) is a more concentrated cohort compared to 150 buying countries, islands and territories. The top 5 importers accounted for a smaller portion of its world total for imported hazelnuts at 67.4%.

As for global imports of hazelnuts by continent, 76.3% of hazelnuts purchased on international markets was delivered to customers in Europe ahead of importers in Asia (9.6%), North America (6.5%), Latin America (3.4%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Africa (2.8%), and Oceania (1.3%) led by Australia.

We calculated the average unit price paid by importers of hazelnuts still in-shell to be $4,287 per ton in 2022. That dollar amount reflects a 9% inflation rate compared to the average tonnage rate of $3,932 for 2021.

Exports of shelled hazelnuts attract a higher unit price. For shelled hazelnuts, the average unit price paid by importers was $6,603 per ton in 2022 down -9.4% from the average tonnage rate of $7,284 for 2021. The higher average price results in part from shelling labor costs and other processing expenses, albeit that price did fall in the latest reporting period.

For research purposes, the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 080221 for fresh or dried hazelnuts in shell, and 080222 for fresh or dried shelled hazelnuts.

Drilling down on those categories, 92.4% of hazelnuts exported worldwide by value were for shelled hazelnuts. The remaining 7.6% was paid for hazelnuts still in their shells.

Top Hazelnuts Exports by Country

Below are the top 20 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of hazelnuts during 2022, regardless of whether the shipped hazelnuts were in-shell or shelled.

  1. Türkiye: US$971.8 million (54.1% of total exported hazelnuts)
  2. Italy: $177 million (9.9%)
  3. United States: $143.3 million (8%)
  4. Chile: $120.7 million (6.7%)
  5. Azerbaijan: $110.6 million (6.2%)
  6. Georgia: $96.1 million (5.4%)
  7. Germany: $48.6 million (2.7%)
  8. Netherlands: $45.2 million (2.5%)
  9. Spain: $20.8 million (1.2%)
  10. France: $16.6 million (0.9%)
  11. Czech Republic: $8.3 million (0.5%)
  12. Armenia: $5.5 million (0.3%)
  13. Poland: $4.4 million (0.2%)
  14. Lithuania: $2.9 million (0.2%)
  15. Austria: $2.5 million (0.1%)
  16. Slovakia: $1.98 million (0.1%)
  17. Belgium: $1.98 million (0.1%)
  18. Serbia: $1.79 million (0.1%)
  19. Sweden: $1.78 million (0.1%)
  20. China: $1.5 million (0.1%)

By value, the listed 20 countries shipped 99.3% of globally exported hazelnuts in 2022.

Among the top exporters, mainland China was the lone gainer compared to 2021 via a 320.8% advance.

Those countries that posted declines in their exported hazelnuts sales were led by: Slovakia (down -52.5%), Italy (down -48.7%), Austria (down -42.4%), Belgium (down -34.3%) and Czech Republic (down -32.9%).

Top Hazelnuts Imports by Country

Overall spending on imported hazelnuts fell by -6.3% over the 5-year period starting in 2018 and dropped by -18% year over year since 2021.

Below are the 20 best buying markets as measured by the highest dollar value worth of hazelnuts imported during 2022, for any hazelnuts regardless of whether shelled or not.

  1. Germany: US$467.9 million (28.1% of total imported hazelnuts)
  2. Italy: $347.4 million (20.8%)
  3. France: $143 million (8.6%)
  4. Canada: $85.4 million (5.1%)
  5. Netherlands: $80.4 million (4.8%)
  6. Russia: $76.5 million (4.6%)
  7. Switzerland: $58.6 million (3.5%)
  8. Brazil: $53.5 million (3.2%)
  9. Poland: $44.5 million (2.7%)
  10. China: $37.4 million (2.2%)
  11. Spain: $33.8 million (2%)
  12. Australia: $23.7 million (1.4%)
  13. Belgium: $22.9 million (1.4%)
  14. Austria: $19.9 million (1.2%)
  15. United States: $18.6 million (1.1%)
  16. Türkiye: $17.9 million (1.1%)
  17. Libya: $17.2 million (1%)
  18. United Kingdom: $16.1 million (1%)
  19. Egypt: $11.6 million (0.7%)
  20. Algeria: $10.9 million (0.7%)

By value, the listed 20 countries bought 95.2% of globally imported hazelnuts in 2022.

Among the top importers, the fastest-growing importers of hazelnuts since 2021 were: Türkiye (up 27.6%), Libya (up 20.3%), Canada (up 13.2%) and Brazil (up 1.2%).

Those countries that posted declines in their imported hazelnuts purchases were led by: Egypt (down -53.3% from 2021), Belgium (down -40.2%), Poland (down -34.1%), France (down -33.8%) and United Kingdom (down -28.4%).

Imported In-Shell Hazelnuts: Lowest and Highest Unit Prices

In 2022, the world’s average unit price for imports of in-shell hazelnuts was US$4,287 per ton.

The average tonnage charge for the number one importer of unshelled hazelnuts, mainland China, was much lower at $2,609 reflecting economies of scale.

Ranked in ascending order, listed below are the countries paying the lowest average unit prices for imported in-shell hazelnuts in 2022.

  1. Bulgaria: US$400 per ton (down -87.2% from 2021)
  2. Kyrgyzstan: $435 per ton (down -56.5%)
  3. Ivory Coast: $727 per ton (2021 data unavailable)
  4. Bermuda: $1,000 per ton (2021 data unavailable)
  5. Thailand: $1,049 per ton (down -52.1%)
  6. Pakistan: $1,200 per ton (up 289.6%)
  7. South Korea: $1,604 per ton (down -50.3%)
  8. Croatia: $1,641 per ton (down -46%)
  9. Belarus: $1,833 per ton (down -33.2%)
  10. Armenia: $1,849 per ton (down -37.1%)
  11. Rwanda: $2,000 per ton (2021 data unavailable)
  12. Namibia: $2,000 per ton (down -66.7%)
  13. Morocco: $2,120 per ton (up 17.1%)
  14. Uzbekistan: $2,233 per ton (up 4.9%)
  15. Syria: $2,294 per ton (down -21.4%)

The severest reductions in average unit price paid per ton for in-shell hazelnuts from 2021 to 2022 belonged to low-cost importers in Bulgaria (down -87.2%), Namibia (down -66.7%), Kyrgyzstan (down -56.5%), Thailand (down -52.1%) and South Korea (down -50.3%).

The following countries paid the highest average unit prices for imported in-shell hazelnuts.

  1. Maldives: US$16,500 per ton (up 52.8% from 2021)
  2. Faroe Islands: $14,000 per ton (up 100%)
  3. Slovenia: $11,481 per ton (down -0.2%)
  4. Seychelles: $10,000 per ton (up 25%)
  5. Singapore: $8,500 per ton (down -39.3%)
  6. Canada: $8,026 per ton (down -2.4%)
  7. Iceland: $7,714 per ton (up 0.2%)
  8. Vietnam: $7,519 per ton (2021 data unavailable)
  9. Kuwait: $7,000 per ton (up 489.7%)
  10. Bhutan: $7,000 per ton (2021 data unavailable)
  11. Denmark: $6,904 per ton (up 3.4%)
  12. Switzerland: $6,658 per ton (down -8.4%)
  13. Cyprus: $6,571 per ton (down -19.3%)
  14. Austria: $6,480 per ton (down -11.7%)
  15. Malaysia: $6,400 per ton (down -17.9%)

The greatest accelerations in terms of higher average unit prices paid in 2022 compared to 2021 were experienced by importers in Kuwait (up 489.7%), Faroe Islands (up 100%), Maldives (up 52.8%) and Seychelles (up 25%).

Imported Shelled Hazelnuts: Lowest and Highest Unit Prices

In 2022, the world’s average unit price for imports of shelled hazelnuts was US$6,603 per ton.

The average tonnage charge for the number one importer of shelled hazelnuts, Germany, was lower at $6,017.

Ranked in ascending order, listed below are the countries paying the lowest average unit prices for imported hazelnuts in 2022 that that have already had their shells removed.

  1. Kyrgyzstan: US$589 per ton (down -39% from 2021)
  2. Angola: $1,923 per ton (down -35.9%)
  3. Tajikistan: $3,000 per ton (up 312.7%)
  4. Romania: $3,188 per ton (down -12.2%)
  5. Kazakhstan: $3,205 per ton (up 19%)
  6. Barbados: $3,333 per ton (down -16.7%)
  7. Ivory Coast: $4,000 per ton (up 14.3%)
  8. Fiji: $4,500 per ton (down -10%)
  9. Georgia: $4,566 per ton (down -21.8%)
  10. Mongolia: $4,571 per ton (up 16.9%)
  11. Belarus: $4,715 per ton (up 1.8%)
  12. Uzbekistan: $4,742 per ton (up 12.3%)
  13. Syria: $4,922 per ton (down -7.7%)
  14. Oman: $5,000 per ton (down -58.3%)
  15. Russia: $5,062 per ton (down -16.3%)

The strongest reductions in average unit price paid per ton for shelled hazelnuts from 2021 to 2022 belong to low-cost importers in Oman (down -58.3%), Kyrgyzstan (down -39%), Angola (down -35.9%), Georgia (down -21.8%), Barbados (down -16.7%), Russia (down -16.3%) and Romania (down -12.2%).

The following countries paid the highest average unit prices for imported hazelnuts with their shells removed .

  1. Maldives: US$16,250 per ton (down -8.7% from 2021)
  2. Madagascar: $13,000 per ton (up 18.2%)
  3. Greenland: $11,667 per ton (down -5.4%)
  4. Macao: $11,333 per ton (down -17.1%)
  5. Luxembourg: $11,071 per ton (up 7.4%)
  6. Faroe Islands: $10,500 per ton (down -1.6%)
  7. Panama: $10,000 per ton (down -28.6%)
  8. Mauritius: $9,833 per ton (down -13.2%)
  9. French Polynesia: $9,833 per ton (up 22.9%)
  10. Hong Kong: $9,610 per ton (down -4.1%)
  11. Aruba: $9,500 per ton (up 5.6%)
  12. Costa Rica: $9,133 per ton (up 14.9%)
  13. Ecuador: $9,097 per ton (down -7.3%)
  14. Moldova: $9,000 per ton (down -12.9%)
  15. Brazil: $8,634 per ton (up 5.5%)

The greatest increases in terms of higher average unit prices paid in 2022 compared to 2021 were experienced by importers of shelled hazelnuts in French Polynesia (up 22.9%), Madagascar (up 18.2%), Costa Rica (up 14.9%) and Luxembourg (up 7.4%).

See also Top Peanuts Exports & Imports by Country Plus Average Prices, Top Almonds Exporters by Country, Top Walnut Exporters by Country and Top Cashews Exports & Imports by Country Plus Average Prices, Top Pistachios Exports & Imports by Country Plus Average Prices and Top Chestnuts Exports & Imports by Country Plus Average Prices

Research Sources:
Alibaba, Hazelnut Showroom. Accessed on September 24, 2023

Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on September 24, 2023

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 24, 2023

Wikipedia, Hazelnut. Accessed on September 24, 2023