Turkey earned around $1.88 billion by exporting more than 235,000 tons of hazelnuts in the last 12 months, a hazelnut exporters' association said Tuesday.

The 2016-2017 hazelnut export season ended as of Aug. 31, President of Black Sea Hazelnut and Products Exporters' Association (KFMIB) Edip Sevinç told Anadolu Agency (AA).

The volume of the export decreased by 5.6 percent and the value dropped by 17.4 percent from Sept. 1, 2016 to Aug. 31, 2017 compared to the previous season, he added.

Sevinç pointed out that most of the hazelnut exports were made to EU countries as it was in the previous years. Turkey is the world's largest exporter of hazelnuts.