British farmers may go nuts for latest cash crop

HAZELNUT orchards could become a familiar sight in the British countryside as farmers look to cash in on the growing consumer demand for the flavoursome nuts.

- BY TONY WHITFIELD

Many farmers are aiming to create hazelnut orchards

The UK has an ideal climate for growing hazelnuts but until now most of those consumed here have been imported.

However climate change is increasingly affecting yields in Turkey, which provides three-quarters of the world's crop and has seen a 40% fall in productivity in recent years, with similar falls in Spain, Italy and France.

Suffolk farmer Tom McVeigh, of the British Hazelnut Association, is one of a number in this country to have started planting trial orchards of American hazelnuts this year.