Piedmont Hazelnut Harvest Could Fall 30% After Heat, Drought and Hail

Weather reverses an optimistic outlook

Piedmont’s hazelnut harvest could fall by around 30% after a summer of high temperatures and persistent drought reduced yields in one of Italy’s most important growing regions. GreenMe reports that expectations had remained positive until the end of May, but exceptional heat and a prolonged lack of rain subsequently placed orchards under increasing stress. Stink-bug attacks and hail added to the damage in some areas, turning what had initially appeared likely to be an abundant season into a much tighter campaign.

Harvesting began about one week earlier than last year in Piedmont’s earliest areas. Despite the estimated decline, overall production is still expected to be better than in the difficult 2025 season. The regional picture is uneven, however. Plant age, orchard characteristics and farm management have affected how trees responded to water stress. Younger and better-managed orchards appear to have performed more strongly, while older plantations have faced greater difficulty.

Damage may extend beyond the current crop

The shortfall does not stem from a single event. Low rainfall slowed plant development and also affected the natural fall of the nuts, while localized insect pressure and hail caused additional crop losses. Confagricoltura Cuneo e Piemonte warns that hail can damage trees themselves, meaning the effects in the worst-hit orchards may continue into future harvests rather than ending with the current campaign.

Enrico Allasia, president of Confagricoltura Cuneo e Piemonte, described the situation as another example of the pressure climate change is placing on agriculture. Growers are having to spend more to protect and manage their orchards even as weather-related volatility makes output less predictable. That combination is particularly significant for farms considering the renewal of older orchards, which the early harvest evidence suggests may be less resilient to prolonged water shortages.

Prices become critical for growers and processors

Piedmont has about 27,000 hectares devoted to hazelnuts, concentrated mainly in the provinces of Cuneo, Asti and Alessandria. The crop supports thousands of agricultural businesses and is a major part of the economy in the region’s hilly areas. Alba and the Langhe are closely associated with the Tonda Gentile del Piemonte hazelnut, while the broader regional crop is sought by confectionery and other food manufacturers for both its availability and quality.

With harvesting under way, attention is moving to market quotations. Reduced yields make the price paid for each unit of production more important to farm profitability, especially as growers face higher operating and crop-protection costs. Confagricoltura is asking the market to reflect both the smaller harvest and the additional expenses borne by producers. Adequate prices, the organization argues, are needed not only to offset reduced volumes but also to preserve investment in orchard renewal. For processors, the result will be a closer focus on usable quality and regional availability. Piedmont’s crop may outperform 2025, but a decline of around 30% from earlier expectations would still tighten access to a highly valued raw material at a time when food-industry demand for hazelnuts continues to rise.