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Ferrero dispels fears of Nutella shortage

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Ferrero dispels fears of Nutella shortage
The imminent Nutella shortage was described as a "false problem" by Ferrero's president. Hazelnut spread photo: Shutterstock"

The president of the Italian food giant Ferrero has denied that there is a Nutella shortage on the way after speculation that a poor hazelnut harvest could hit the popular chocolate spread.

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Reports of a Nutella shortage or price hike last week follow a poor harvest in Turkey, which produces 70 percent of the world’s hazelnut supply.

Trade estimates said the shortage amounted to 260,000 tonnes of the nut, while French daily Le Parisien said hazelnut prices had jumped from €5,000 to €8,5000.

READ MORE: Consumers may have to shell out more for Nutella

But Francesco Paolo Fulci, the president of Ferrero, the maker of the famous chocolate spread, dispelled fears of an imminent Nutella shortage.

“It’s a false problem,”  he was quoted in AGI as saying.

“We have recurrent crises of this type more or less every ten years and in the past they haven’t been talked about. I ask if some people are looking to raise prices. I hope that this isn’t the case,” he said.

There is no need to stockpile jars of Nutella, as Fulci assured reporters “we will continue to offer the quantity of Nutella requested by consumers.”

To fit 50 hazelnuts into each 13oz (370g) jar of Nutella, Ferrero buys up around 25 percent of the world’s annual production.

To secure its position in the nut market, Ferrero last month bought up Turkey’s Oltan Group, described by the company as “the worldwide leading operator” in hazelnuts.  

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