Turkey's hazelnut exports over 185,000 tons in 7 months

Turkey exported 185,147 tons of hazelnut in the first seven months of the export season, a regional trade union said on Thursday.

It was down from 249,971 tons in the same period of last season, according to data by the Black Sea Hazelnut and Hazelnut Products Exporters' Union.

Turkey reaped $1.3 billion from hazelnut exports in September-March, down 20.5% on an annual basis.

The union's data showed some 40% of the country's hazelnut exports were processed products worth $555.8 million, with the rest raw hazelnuts in the first seven months of the season that starts in September and ends in August.

The EU is the top recipient of Turkish hazelnuts with 135,870 tons in the same period.

Turkey is the world's largest hazelnut exporter.