Nutella lovers could be facing a serious food crisis. The price of hazelnut increased this year after frost damaged the crop earlier this year in Turkey, the world's largest producer.
Foodies' favorite spread could cost more on the shelves since the prices of hazelnuts reached a 10-year high with a 60 percent increase. Bad weather ruined the hazelnut crop, which is grown on the slopes near the Black Sea coast in Turkey. Frost and hails storm from March destroyed the crop during the most important time in the growing season, "leaving buyers scrambling for supplies." About 70 percent of the world's hazelnuts are grown in Turkey.
Turkey expected 800,000 tons to be produced before the damage, but believe the harvest will include 540,000 tons. The price of hazelnuts increased to $10,5000 per ton, compared to $6,500 in February.
"There is ongoing strong demand, albeit with some occasional quiet patches when buyers hold back for a period, which helps keeps [hazelnut] prices firm," writes Julian Gales, deputy editor of Foodnews.
Each 13-ounce jar of the spread contains 50 hazelnuts. A Scottish manufacturer decided to remove hazelnuts out of its mixed nuts packages. The increase in hazelnut prices could also affect Cadbury's Whole Nut bars, which is one of the company's most popular products.
Ferrero, the Italian chocolate company that makes Nutella, protected itself by recently purchased Oltan Group, the top processor of the crop. Ferrero is the biggest buyer of hazelnuts, using 25 percent of the world's supply.
The price of cocoa is at a three-year high, and a drought in California caused almond prices to reach a nine-year high.
There has been a worldwide 6.4 increase in Nutella sales in 2013, and a 5.9 percent increase in the U.S.
It's best to stock up on the product now before students at Columbia University -- who went through 10 pounds of the spread a day -- get their hands on it.
