Major Hazelnut Producers

Turkey is the world’s leading hazelnut producer, producing over 75% of the total hazelnut crop, followed by Italy with 11%, the United States (Oregon) and Azerbaijan with 3%, and Spain and Iran with 2% (Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).
In recent years, many new hazelnut producers have emerged in Chile, Argentina and Georgia.

Turkey has the leading position in terms of land under hazelnut orchards, with about 700,000 hectares (Source: Ministry of Agriculture of Turkey, 2011).

The most favorable areas for hazelnut cultivation include the Black Sea coastal regions in the northeastern part of the country (Giresun, Ordu and Trabzon, which account for about 60% of national production) and the central-western regions (Samsun, Bolu and Zonguldak Akcakoca).

In Italy, there are about 70,000 hectares of hazelnut orchards. (Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). The main production areas are Campania, Lazio, Piedmont and Sicily (listed in order of importance), which produce 98% of the total hazelnut production in Italy.

The production area in the United States is about 11,000 hectares (Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).
The main hazelnut growing area is the Willamette Valley (Oregon) on the Pacific coast, which accounts for 80-90% of the hazelnuts grown in the United States. Unlike Turkey and Italy, where hazelnut plantations are managed by small (1-2 hectares) or medium-sized (10 hectares) companies, plantations in the United States are large (15-30 hectares), with a high degree of mechanization.