Original version

BBC World Service

BBC World Service Radio

World Service Radio

Assignment

Factual

Investigations and journeys into the heart of global events from BBC correspondents.

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

BBC World Service East Asia

BBC World Service News Internet

Assignment: The bitter song of the hazelnut

Documentaries

News

The bitter song of the hazelnut

19/09/2019 GMT

BBC World Service - Assignment, The bitter song of the hazelnut

Long hours, little pay, for the workers who pick Turkey's hazelnuts.

Nutella is the world’s favourite spread – but how much does its maker, Ferrero, know about how the hazelnuts are picked?

Every August tens of thousands of Kurdish migrant workers, including children, toil long hours for a pittance in the mountains of northern Turkey picking hazelnuts for the spreads and chocolate bars the world adores. Turkey provides 70% of all hazelnut supplies – and the biggest buyer is Ferrero, maker of Nutella and Kinder Bueno. The confectionery giant says it’s committed to ethical sourcing, and aiming for its hazelnuts to be 100% traceable next year. But how is that possible in Turkey, with its half a million tiny family orchards, where child labour is rife? Tim Whewell investigates Ferrero’s complex supply chain and finds that while hazelnuts are celebrated in Turkish culture and song, it’s a sector where workers and farmers feel increasingly unhappy and reform is very hard to achieve.

(Image: Hazelnut picker on Turkey’s Black Sea coast. Credit: Reyan Tuvi)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Assignment

The bitter song of the hazelnut

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service

About BBC World Service