Nutella may rise sharply in price: the reason is a disastrous harvest

The chocolate-hazelnut spread Nutella may increase in price due to a record low harvest of hazelnuts in Italy. This year, the country collected only 70,000 tons of hazelnuts, which is half of the average in previous years. This is reported by Der Spiegel citing local agricultural associations.

Hazelnuts are a key ingredient in chocolate-hazelnut spreads, including Nutella, which has been produced by Ferrero since the 1940s. The company produces about 500,000 tons of this product each year, and approximately 13% of Nutella consists of hazelnuts. They started to add it during World War II to lower the cost of the spread due to the shortage of cocoa beans.

The hazelnut harvest has been declining for the third consecutive year due to climate change, warm winters, spring rains, summer droughts, and pest invasions. As a result, the production of all products containing hazelnuts may rise in price, which is likely to affect retail prices for both Nutella and other products. The global buzz around Japanese matcha tea is fueled by the increasing popularity of this beverage worldwide. Speculation, poor harvests, and American tariffs have caused a shortage of the product, leading to rising prices and scarcity in the market. Social media and the tourist boom in Japan have also affected the demand for Japanese matcha.