Turkey’s hazelnut farmers fume at Nutella ‘monopoly’

Turkey’s hazelnut farmers fume at Nutella ‘monopoly’

AKYAZI, Turkey: Kneeling from dawn till dusk, the Turkish farmers picking most of the hazelnuts going into Nutella spreads complain of exploitation and meager pay, setting up a clash over labor rights. The little heart-shaped nut making Nutella such a guilty pleasure is a cherished commodity in Turkey, which accounts for 82 percent of global exports. But this love is not shared by Mehmet Sirin, a 25-year-old from Turkey’s mostly Kurdish southeast who travels to lush northern valleys filled with hazelnut trees to make a living during harvest season.

“We work 12 hours a day. This is a demanding job,” said Sirin, a hood protecting him from a cold drizzle covering the leafy ground where the hazelnuts hide after ripening and falling from the trees. “The hazelnuts we pick go abroad and come back in the shape of Nutella. They make more profits than us. This is exploitation,” he said in the Black Sea town of Akyazi.

The world-famous spread is made by Italy’s Ferrero confectionary, Turkey’s top hazelnut purchaser. The global giant’s other sweets include Ferrero Rocher chocolates and Kinder chocolate eggs. But the Italian company is developing ill will in Turkey, where farmers get paid roughly 12 euros ($14) a