According to the head of the Hazelnut Producers Association, Levan Kardava, the price of hazelnuts has fallen to 4-5 GEL ($1.4-1.7) and no price increase is expected soon. Kardava has stated that the price settled at this level due to the strengthening of the lari against the dollar and the Turkish lira, and due to a drop in demand in Europe and the region, which created the prerequisites for relatively high stocks of Georgian hazelnuts left over from the previous season.
According to various estimates, Georgian farmers still store between 7,000 and 12,000 tons of hazelnuts. No orders were received in February-March, but Georgian processors perked up a little in April-May and started accepting hazelnuts for processing.
However, both producers and processors believe that farmers will keep about 10% of the 2020/21 crop (5,000-6,000 tons) and they will be sold with a new hazelnut crop.
Source: east-fruit.com