Nutella fans set to pay more as frost hits Turkish hazelnut harvest

First olive oil, then cocoa and coffee. Now a fresh supply squeeze is set to hit another food pleasure – the hazelnuts that go into making the chocolatey Nutella spread.

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Wholesale prices in Turkey, which accounts for around 65 per cent of global hazelnut output, have jumped by around 30 per cent since April following the country's worst spring frost in more than a decade.

And they are expected to continue rising, according to data from agricultural intelligence firm Expana.

"Fluctuations in Turkish supply and pricing ripple through the entire market," the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council said.

Some alternative supply is available from Italy, the US and Chile, "though not enough to fully offset Turkey's dominance".

That could be bad news for the world's biggest buyer, Italy's Ferrero, which takes around a quarter of Turkey's crop to make products like Ferrero Rocher chocolates and Nutella. Hazelnuts constitute 13 per cent of the spread's ingredients, and the company produces millions of jars each year.