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Assignment: The bitter song of the hazelnut

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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)

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