Will the hazelnut shortage hurt Nutella supplies?

The country, which is responsible for 70 percent of the world’s hazelnuts may produce 30 percent les…

The country, which is responsible for 70 percent of the world’s hazelnuts may produce 30 percent less nuts hazelnuts than expected, Good Food reports

The shortage has caused over a 60 percent spike in price for the nuts this year.

The news is getting Nutella fans worried, since Ferrero buys as much as a quarter of the world’s hazelnuts, and relies heavily on Turkey for supply.

But Nutella is able to somewhat protect itself from market pressures, since it acquired a Turkish hazelnut manufacturer Oltan Group earlier this year.

The Ferrero Group may also look to Australia for supply in years to come, as a subsidiary of the group, Agri Australis, established of a $70 million hazelnut production facility in Riverina, in December last year.

However harvest is not expected until March 2018, with hazelnuts hoping to be in full production by 2022.