Is A Nutella Shortage In Our Near Future?

Get ready to stock up on your favorite chocolate hazelnut spread — a Nutella shortage may soon be upon us. Apparently there's a frost that has affected the growth of hazelnut plants in Turkey, where approximately 70 percent of the world's hazelnuts are grown and sold every year. And Ferrero, the mother company that makes the popular chocolate spread, actually accounts for 25 percent of hazelnut sales around the world! As a result, the price of hazelnuts has skyrocketed, and has almost doubled since March, from 6,500 Turkish lira to 10,500 Turkish lira per ton.

It seems that Ferrero can't get a break! The price of cocoa, the other half of Nutella's delicious formula, has almost increased dramatically since last year, due to the rising demand for chocolate worldwide, forcing most chocolate companies to raise their prices as well.

We have reached out to Ferrero to see if they can assuage our fears of this potential Nutella shortage or at the very least, dramatic wholesale price increases, but have not yet heard back.

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Joanna Fantozzi is an Associate Editor with The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter@JoannaFantozzi