Hazelnut prices, which have been at low levels in the free market for a few weeks, started this week with a slight rise. With Ferrero’s repurchase orders to its suppliers, free market prices rose in TL terms.
However, this upward effect on TL basis has no significance due to the record increase in USD/TL value. This record increase in the USD/TL rate results in the best purchase prices of the 2021 season for European buyers. Whether the market can provide better purchasing opportunities for European buyers depends, in the short term, on the value of TL against foreign currency. The views of many foreign financial institutions are that the Turkish lira will close the last quarter by depreciating even more.
In the long term, we will monitor the impact of TMO on the market. Explaining that the purchase appointments exceed 80 thousand tons, TMO says that the amount will increase even more and that hazelnuts should not be sold to the free market.
The purchase amount that TMO foresees in the future may reach a level that will affect the market, but the rapid depreciation of the Turkish lira seems to suppress the effect of TMO on the market. We’ll wait and see..