Hazelnuts (Kernels & In-Shell)

Turkish Giresun & Levant kernels, natural or roasted, 11-13 & 13-15 mm

Hazelnut kernels are bought on four things: origin quality, calibre, process and the aflatoxin result. Türkiye dominates the trade: UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations under HS 0802.22 (shelled hazelnuts) total USD 2.39 billion across reporters, and Türkiye alone declared USD 1.50 billion and 183,093 MT, 63% of the value, followed by Chile (USD 230 million, 21,656 MT), Italy (USD 167 million, 17,771 MT), the USA (USD 142 million), Azerbaijan (USD 127 million, 19,326 MT) and Georgia (USD 90 million, 12,734 MT). Inside Türkiye the contract names the quality. Giresun quality is the Tombul hazelnut of the Giresun region, including Vakfıkebir in Trabzon and Piraziz in Ordu: thin-shelled, high in fat and easy to blanch. Everything grown elsewhere on the Black Sea belt is Levant quality, traded as Levant Ordu, Levant Trabzon, Levant Samsun or Levant Akçakoca, a little lower in fat and the volume grade for confectionery. Kernels are calibrated by the diameter of the equatorial section, and 11-13 mm and 13-15 mm are the two calibres most chocolate and snack buyers price against; UNECE standard DDP-04 sets 9 mm as the minimum for Extra Class and Class I kernels and moisture at no more than 6.0%. The Turkish crop is harvested from August, and for the 2026 crop the state buyer TMO set purchase prices of TRY 255/kg for Giresun quality and TRY 250/kg for Levant quality in-shell hazelnuts on a 50% kernel yield basis, with a surcharge for each point of yield above 50%.

The buyer is a chocolate, praline, spread, bakery, cereal or snack manufacturer, an ingredient processor or a retail packer, and the specification follows the process. Natural (raw) kernels go to roasters and to buyers who roast in-house; roasted and blanched kernels, where the skin is removed after roasting, go straight into chocolate, spreads and inclusions; diced, sliced, meal and paste are made from the same kernels for bakery and filling. In-shell hazelnuts (HS 0802.21) are a smaller trade for retail and festive markets. The EU sets aflatoxin limits for hazelnuts under Regulation (EU) 2023/915 at 5.0 µg/kg B1 and 10.0 µg/kg total for product placed on the market and 8.0 / 15.0 µg/kg for nuts to be sorted or otherwise physically treated before use, and from 2026 Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/194 keeps hazelnuts from Azerbaijan and Georgia on 20% border checks for aflatoxin. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers hazelnut kernels and in-shell hazelnuts from Turkish, Italian, Azerbaijani, Georgian and Chilean shellers and processors against a certificate of analysis for calibre, moisture, aflatoxin and microbiology, a phytosanitary certificate, a certificate of origin and, for EU entry, the official sampling that applies to the origin. Kernels move vacuum-packed or in lined cartons or bags, container-load, on FOB, CFR and CIF terms. Send the quality, calibre, process (natural, roasted, blanched, diced, paste), aflatoxin limit, volume and discharge port, and the enquiry is screened and worked against it.

Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.