By Tuba Sahin
ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's hazelnut exports reached 132,772 tons in the first five months of the export season, a regional trade union announced on Tuesday.
The September-January figure was down 32% from the same period last season, the Black Sea Hazelnut and Products Exporters' Union said.
Turkey had earned $924 million from hazelnut exports from last September to this January, also decreasing 27% year-on-year.
Some 43.9% of the country's hazelnut exports were processed products worth $403 million, while the rest were raw hazelnuts.
The EU remained the top export market for Turkish hazelnuts with 95,694 tons in the first five months of this season, which starts in September and ends in August.
Turkey is the world's largest hazelnut exporter.