687.7 Thousand Tonnes of EU Hazelnut Production 2021–2025: A Complete Data Breakdown

EU Market Share: Who Dominates Production?

Over the five harvest years from 2021 to 2025, the EU-27 produced a total of 687.7 thousand tonnes of hazelnuts. Italy alone accounted for 505.6 thousand tonnes, or 73.5% of the EU total (101.1 thousand t/yr). France followed with 57.4 thousand tonnes (8.3%, 11.5 thousand t/yr), while Poland contributed 48.0 thousand tonnes (7.0%, 9.6 thousand t/yr). Spain ranked fourth with 28.9 thousand tonnes (4.2%, 5.8 thousand t/yr), and Greece rounded out the top five with 14.0 thousand tonnes (2.0%).

Italy's 505.6 thousand tonnes over the five-year period (101.1 thousand t/yr) is nearly nine times the output of France, the second-largest producer. The top three producers — Italy, France, and Poland — together supply 88.8% of all EU hazelnuts.

Agricultural Efficiency: Yield per Hectare

Eurostat does not publish direct yield indicators for hazelnuts in the apro_cpsh1 dataset, but yield can be estimated from harvested production and planted area across the 5-year window. The data reveals significant differences in land-use efficiency among the top producers.

Poland achieves the highest calculated yield among the major producers at 1.75 tonnes per hectare, followed closely by Romania at 1.66 t/ha. Italy, despite dominating total production, has a moderate yield of 1.16 t/ha due to its very extensive planted area. Spain and Croatia show the lowest yields at 0.59 and 0.31 t/ha respectively. Note that Greek data is estimated (flagged "e" by Eurostat) and its high calculated yield of 3.59 t/ha should be interpreted with caution.

Regional and Climatic Divides Across Europe

Hazelnut production is overwhelmingly concentrated in Southern Europe, with Italy alone accounting for nearly three-quarters of EU output.

Southern Europe accounts for 82.0% of total EU hazelnut production, driven overwhelmingly by Italy. Eastern Europe contributes 9.6%, led by Poland, while Western Europe (mainly France) supplies the remaining 8.4%. Northern European countries have negligible hazelnut production, confirming the crop's strict climatic requirements.

Temporal Trends: Market Stability vs. Volatility

The 2021–2025 period shows a general upward trend in EU hazelnut production, though individual member states display markedly different trajectories.

Italy shows steady growth from 84.7 thousand tonnes in 2021 to a peak of 120.5 thousand tonnes in 2024 — a 42.3% increase — before declining to 99.0 thousand tonnes in 2025. France is the most volatile producer, swinging from 17.2 thousand tonnes in 2023 down to 8.5 thousand tonnes in 2024 (−50.8%), then stabilising at 9.5 thousand tonnes in 2025.

Poland demonstrates remarkable stability, with annual production consistently between 7.6 and 10.7 thousand tonnes and no year-over-year swing exceeding 25%. Romania shows a strong upward trajectory, growing from 0.7 thousand tonnes in 2021 to 3.9 thousand tonnes in 2025 — a 5.9-fold increase over the five-year window.

The EU-27 aggregate grew steadily from 118.0 thousand tonnes in 2021 to a peak of 153.1 thousand tonnes in 2024 (+29.7%), before easing to 132.8 thousand tonnes in 2025.

Land Allocation: How Countries Prioritize Farmland

The EU-27 dedicated a total of 626.3 thousand hectares to hazelnut orchards between 2021 and 2025, averaging 125.3 thousand hectares per year. Italy accounts for nearly 70% of this area.

Italy's 435.8 thousand hectares over five years (87.2 thousand ha/yr) is more than the combined hazelnut area of all other EU member states. Italy's planted area has also been expanding steadily, from 82.6 thousand hectares in 2021 to 90.8 thousand hectares in 2025 — a 9.9% increase. This expansion, combined with Italy's dominant production share, underscores the country's lock on the European hazelnut market.

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