Bad news, dudes. After unwelcome spring frost in decimated nearly a quarter of Turkey's hazelnut crop, there is real fear that we're now facing a Nutella shortage. That's because the production of Nutella consumes 25 percent of the world's hazelnut crop. And naturally, less crop means less Nutella.
Don't freak out just yet. Since Turkey produces some 70 percent of the hazelnuts in the world, the bad crop caused the price of the nut over 50 percent. But Nutella has a distinct advantage. Nutella's parent company, Ferrero, is the world's biggest purchaser of hazelnuts, and Ferrero also recently purchased Turkey's largest hazelnut producer, Oltan. That presumably means that Nutella gets first dibs on the available hazelnuts.
Of course, economics is not just about getting dibs. Other candy companies are already finding ways around the hazelnut shortage, and some are even omitting the nuts from certain products in order to protect their bottom line. Meanwhile, the popularity of Nutella is on the up-and-up. Demand increased 6.4 percent last year, when a whopping $2.64 billion worth of the spread was sold. A single jar of Nutella contains about 50 hazelnuts, so it's not like Ferrero can skimp too much.
Will Ferrero be able to handle the ever-increasing demand in the face of a definite shortage? Well, Nutella fans, the best we can do is wait and hope.
Image via Flickr