Italian confectionery giant Ferrero projects a total investment of TL 150 million in Turkey this year. This amount is expected to cover training and technical support for hazelnut producers along with the ongoing development activities in the company's facilities.

Ferrero has six production facilities in Turkey. Ferrero Group Turkey runs three factories in Trabzon and also in Düzce, İzmit and Manisa. It employs 1,500 people, runs eight warehouses, five collection centers and five Ferrero Farming Values offices.

"In 2019, Ferrero Fındık has set an investment target of TL 150 million for Turkey," Ferrero Hazelnut CEO Marco Gonçalves said, according to a statement by the company. He added that these investments cover training and technical support for hazelnut producers with the "Ferrero Farming Values" project and ongoing growth and development activities in the company's production and logistics facilities.

Regarding the next step for Ferrero Hazelnut in the country, Gonçalves said, "As our strategic partner, we are ready to implement long-term programs in Turkey, which have already proven a success in countries such as Italy and Chile. These programs provide foresight and stability to hazelnut producers who are supported by the premium system and make quality-oriented production, thus increasing the sustainability of the sector."

Gonçalves further noted that 2018-2019 is a good season in terms of both quality and quantity, highlighting that although it is very early, they also regard the current situation in the hazelnut gardens quite well in relation to the 2019-2020 crop.

Ferrero Group is one of the largest companies in the global confectionery and chocolate markets with a total business volume of over 10 billion euros ($11.33 billion). The group has 22 production facilities and nine agricultural companies worldwide.

Turkey, the world's largest hazelnut exporter, earned $1.78 billion with nearly 287,000 tons of hazelnut exports last season, from September 2017 to the end of August 2018.

Last month, Ferrero Hazelnut Turkey General Manager Bamsi Akın said the company paid an extra TL 2 million to purchase higher quality Turkish hazelnuts than they would have been able to get from anywhere else in the world.

Turkey sold some 167,700 tons of hazelnuts abroad in the first six months of this export season, the Black Sea Exporters Association said on Monday. The hazelnut export volume between last September and this February fell 1.9 percent compared to the same period last year.

Turkey made a $954.3 million revenue in hazelnut exports during the same period, down 12 percent. EU countries remained the top export market for Turkish hazelnuts, buying over 75 percent, or around 128,000 tons, of Turkey's total hazelnut exports over the six months.