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Hazelnuts from Türkiye: what to specify when you source them

Lotvela · Gaziantep · Checked 27 October 2026 · Reviewed by Ömer Faruk Erdoğan

Türkiye grew about 59 % of the world's hazelnuts in 2024 and sells them in-shell, as natural or blanched kernels, roasted, diced, as flour or as paste. To source them, specify the form, variety or trade quality, the UNECE class, a size range in millimetres, moisture, defect limits, the EU aflatoxin category and the crop year. Turkish hazelnuts are not under increased EU border controls, so no official certificate is needed, but EU aflatoxin limits apply.

Production and growing provinces

FAO data put Türkiye's 2024 crop at 717,000 tonnes in shell, out of 1.21 million tonnes worldwide. Output swings: TÜİK puts 2025 at 441,000 tonnes and first estimates 2026 at 715,000.

The orchards run along the Black Sea, mostly within 30 km of the shore, from Zonguldak almost to the Georgian border. By area, the ten largest provinces in 2025 were Ordu, Samsun, Giresun, Sakarya, Trabzon, Düzce, Zonguldak, Kocaeli, Bartın and Kastamonu. Samsun produced the most in 2025: 92,000 tonnes.

Varieties and trade qualities

The Ministry of Agriculture's Hazelnut Research Institute lists over 15 varieties, including:

Tombul: round, grown mainly in Giresun and nearby Trabzon. 670–730 in-shell nuts per kilogram, kernel yield 50–52 %, and a skin that peels easily for blanching.
Palaz: round and flattened, widely grown in Ordu. 600–650 nuts per kilogram.
Sivri: long and pointed, grown in almost every area. 580–650 nuts per kilogram.
Kara (Karafındık): grown around Akçakoca in Düzce. It ripens later than Tombul, with a high share of shrivelled kernels.

The institute warns that mixed varieties complicate kernel processing, so name the variety you need.

Giresun Tombul Fındığı

Türk Patent registered "Giresun Tombul Fındığı" as a designation of origin (menşe adı), no. 31, effective 18 February 2001. It covers Giresun province and the coast to Beşikdüzü and Vakfıkebir in Trabzon.

The EU registered it as a PDO (PDO-TR-02419) by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/939, published on 20 June 2022. The specification requires at least 90 % Tombul on the farm, orchards no higher than 750 m, and packs bearing a logo and an official hologram. It covers in-shell nuts, raw kernels and roasted kernels, with moisture of at most 7 %, 6 % and 3 %. On 27 October 2026 it was the only Turkish hazelnut name on the EU register, eAmbrosia.

Product forms

Natural kernels keep their skin; blanched kernels have it removed. Diced kernels, meal and flour are cut or ground to a stated particle size. The Ministry of Trade says processed products are about 40 % of hazelnut exports; most of the rest is kernels.

UNECE grades: DDP-03 and DDP-04

UNECE standards DDP-03 (in-shell hazelnuts) and DDP-04 (hazelnut kernels) were reissued in 2025. They exclude salted, sugared, flavoured, roasted and industrial-use nuts, so define roasting, dice size and paste fineness in your contract. Both have Extra, Class I and Class II.

Size: mandatory for Extra and Class I: the largest diameter across the nut, as a range no wider than 3 mm or a screen size. Minimum 12 mm in shell and 9 mm for kernels (6–9 mm for "piccolo" types).
Moisture: at most 12.0 % for the whole in-shell nut or 7.0 % for its kernel; 6.0 % for kernels.
Kernel defects: 5, 14 and 18 % in total by class, of which mould at most 0.5, 1.5 and 2.5 %, and rancid at most 1, 2 and 3 %.
In-shell defects: 10, 15 and 20 % in total, of which empty or undeveloped nuts at most 6, 9 and 12 %.
Foreign matter: 0.25 % by weight for kernels; 1, 1 and 2 % in shell. No living pests.
Variety: Extra and Class I kernel packs must name it; 10 % of other varieties is tolerated.

Harvest season

The Hazelnut Research Institute gives harvest dates that vary by year: about 1–10 August on the coast, 10–20 August in the middle belt and after 20 August higher up. The nuts are then sun-dried for 3–5 days.

Aflatoxin limits in the EU

Regulation (EU) 2023/915 sets these maximum levels for hazelnuts:

To be sorted or physically treated first: 8.0 µg/kg aflatoxin B1 and 15.0 µg/kg for the sum of B1, B2, G1 and G2.
For the final consumer or use as an ingredient: 5.0 µg/kg B1 and 10.0 µg/kg sum.

For in-shell nuts, all contamination is assumed to be in the kernel. Products of at least 80 % hazelnut take the same limits.

EU import controls

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1793 lists foods facing extra border checks. In its consolidated text of 30 June 2026, with annexes replaced by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1206, Türkiye's entries include dried figs and pistachios, but not hazelnuts. Hazelnuts from Azerbaijan and Georgia are listed, with 20 % of consignments checked for aflatoxins. The lists follow origin, and Türkiye imported about 18,000 tonnes of hazelnuts in 2024/25, so ask where yours were grown.

For Great Britain, check with your importer: when we checked, the England legal text did not list Turkish hazelnuts, but Food Standards Agency guidance did.

Our monthly count of EU food-safety alerts lists every RASFF notification on Turkish hazelnuts in the last 12 months.

HS codes and proof of origin

Hazelnuts in shell are CN 0802 21 00 and shelled hazelnuts 0802 22 00. Roasted hazelnuts fall under heading 2008 and hazelnut flour under 1106 30; confirm codes with your broker. Chapters 8, 11 and 20 are agricultural products in Annex I to the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, outside the EU–Türkiye customs union, so origin is proved with a EUR.1 or an origin declaration, not an A.TR. See our export documents guide.

Packaging and storage

UNECE packs must be uniform in origin, class and size, and labelled with packer, origin, class and size. The Hazelnut Research Institute says hazelnuts keep for up to a year in a cool, dry, ventilated store; longer storage needs 2–4.5 °C and 55–60 % relative humidity.

Questions buyers ask

Do Turkish hazelnuts need a health certificate for the EU?

Not under the EU's increased-controls rules. Hazelnuts from Türkiye are not in Annex I or II of Regulation (EU) 2019/1793 (consolidated text of 30 June 2026), unlike Turkish dried figs and pistachios. Aflatoxin limits still apply to every lot, so make a recent accredited laboratory report a contract term.

What is the difference between Giresun and Levant quality?

They are Turkish trade terms for where the nuts were grown: "Giresun quality" for the Giresun area named in the PDO file, "Levant quality" for other parts of Türkiye. Neither is a UNECE class, so also state class, size and defect limits, and ask the producer which quality the lot is sold as.

When can I buy new-crop hazelnuts?

Harvest starts on the coast in early August and continues into late August higher up, followed by drying, shelling and grading. When graded kernels are ready depends on each producer, so we do not quote dates. Ask producers, and say whether you accept the previous crop.

Can I sell Giresun Tombul Fındığı under my own brand?

Under Regulation (EU) 2024/1143, any operator may use the name on products that meet the specification: nuts from the defined Giresun and Trabzon districts, at least 90 % Tombul, and packs with the name, lot number, net weight, logo and official hologram. Ask the producer for proof. See our private label guide.

What to put in your brief

Item	What to state
Form	In-shell, natural, blanched, roasted, diced, flour or paste; roast level and fineness
Variety and quality	Tombul, Palaz, Sivri or Kara; Giresun or Levant quality; PDO or not
Class	Extra, Class I or Class II, against UNECE DDP-03 or DDP-04
Size	Range in millimetres, screen size or particle size
Moisture and defects	Maximum moisture; limits for mould, rancidity, pest damage and foreign matter
Aflatoxins	EU category; accredited pre-shipment analysis
Origin and documents	Country where grown; EUR.1 or origin declaration
Crop year	New crop or a stated earlier crop
Packing	Pack type, net weight, vacuum or inert gas, best-before period

For the wider steps, read our guide to sourcing food from Türkiye.

Sending a brief to Lotvela

Lotvela is a sourcing intermediary in Gaziantep. Send a brief and we approach producers that may fit, check product fit, a free production window, export record and documents, then send a dated shortlist with every claim marked confirmed or not confirmed. It is free for buyers: the producer pays a commission at the same rate for every producer, invoices and ships, and money never passes through Lotvela.