The price of Oregon hazelnuts is half what it was a year ago. Still, according to Terry Ross, executive director of the Hazelnut Growers Bargaining Association, low prices could drive up demand.
Oregon’s hazelnut growers will receive approximately half the price for this year’s crop that they did for last year’s, according to Ross.
Nearly 100% of hazelnuts grown in the United States are grown in Oregon. In 2019, 80% of Oregon’s filberts were exported to China. But the trade war between the United States and China has hurt growers. In response to tariffs imposed by former president Donald Trump on Chinese imports, China has raised tariffs on items it imports from the US, including hazelnuts, for which the country now charges a 65% tariff.
The war in Ukraine has also reduced demand for the nut. Combine this with high inflation in Turkey, which produces 70% of the global supply of hazelnuts, and the result is a lower-cost product overseas.
Source: oregonbusiness.com