Turkey opens inquiries into hazelnut trades below the TMO purchase price
Turkish authorities have opened investigations after reports that hazelnuts are changing hands on the free market at 170–180 lira, against a TMO purchase price of around 250 lira. Inspectors are reviewing the records and stocks of traders in Ordu, while TMO warehouses have taken in some 60,000 tonnes in under a month of harvest.
Turkey's hazelnut market has come under official investigation after growers' representatives and regional politicians reported that large volumes are trading on the free market at prices far below the level set by TMO, the Turkish agricultural products organisation. The Italian trade publication myfruit.it, citing the Turkish newspaper Ekonomim, reported that the Ministry of Trade and the Competition Authority have opened inquiries.
A gap of up to 30-40% against the official price
TMO has set a purchase price for the crop of around 250 lira. Reports from producer representatives and regional politicians, however, describe a very different situation on the free market, where prices between 170 and 180 Turkish lira have been recorded. The discrepancy reaches 30 to 40 percent against a level that, in the view of the sector, should act as the minimum selling threshold.
That gap is what pushed the Ministry of Trade and the Competition Authority to act. According to Ekonomim, inspectors are currently examining the commercial records and the stocks of traders in Ordu. The authorities have also requested a report setting out proposed solutions from the Chamber of Agriculture, which has reportedly already been delivered.
Calls to start from export prices and work backwards
Atakan Akça, president of the Altınordu Chamber of Agriculture, who had previously raised the issue and called for intervention by the Ministry of Trade and the Competition Authority, argues that the inquiry is pointed in the wrong direction. He told Ekonomim it should begin with export prices and move back down the chain to the producer and the selling price of the raw material.
“How much was sold abroad and at what price? Which company sold it and where did it buy it from? If the investigation proceeds in cascade, the problem will emerge much more clearly,” Akça told the Turkish newspaper.
- Look beyond commercial records to the stocks held in the warehouses of traders and companies, including those located elsewhere.
- Concentrate first on the operators handling the largest volumes.
- In Akça's assessment, a very thorough analysis of at most 10 to 12 companies in Turkey would be enough to identify the origin of the problem.
His reasoning draws on the fruit and vegetable market, where an investigation found that a chain of invoicing and intermediaries ended up inflating costs. The concern is that if the hazelnut inquiry does not start from the right point, a similar outcome will follow.
TMO intake and higher delivery quotas
In just under a month of harvest, TMO warehouses have taken in around 60,000 tonnes of hazelnuts, an average of some 1,500 tonnes purchased per day. In several districts, quotas have been raised at the request of growers. According to Akça, cited by Ekonomim, the quota for Altınordu rose from 76 to 100 kilograms, while in Ulubey it was increased from 102 to 123.
The low prices on the free market are steering a growing number of producers towards TMO, with appointments booked for deliveries of more than 200,000 tonnes. For buyers along the chain, the more of the crop that moves into TMO warehouses, the thinner the volume left in free circulation later in the season. The outcome of the two investigations will determine whether the 250-lira level functions as an effective reference for the market or remains a nominal figure alongside prices set 30 to 40 percent lower.
