Somewhat surprisingly, given how much I love both chocolate and nuts, and given that I would never say no to a piece of Ferrero Rocher chocolate-hazelnut candy* that contains a Nutella-filled wafer (now that’s what I call and amuse bouche), I’m not a major fan of Nutella the spread. I have nothing against it. It’s just that I have nothing for it, either.
But for some reason, I do enjoy reading about Nutella.
Thus, I was interested in a recent article in The Economist on how Georgia – no, not that Georgia, not our Georgia, the one that grows peanuts; the other Georgia, the one where Josef Stalin was born – has become a key supplier to Ferrero, maker of both Nutella and Ferrero Rocher. After Turkey and Italy, Georgia provides Ferrero with more hazelnuts than any other country. In fact:
Hazelnuts are Georgia’s biggest export after copper ore. (Source: The Economist)
Since exiting the Soviet Union, Georgia has become somewhat Europe-facing, and they have a number of partnerships with the EU, including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA).
As trade agreements go, I’ll give this one props for the name. Deep and Comprehensive. Gotta love it.
Yet rather than making Nutella’s supply chain smoother, the DCFTA could render it a bit sticky. About 10% of the hazelnuts Georgia exports come from the Russian-backed breakaway territory of Abkhazia, which has enjoyed de facto independence since its war of secession in 1992-93. Georgia has no formal trade relations with Abkhazia, and hazelnuts are the only product which Abkhazian authorities allow farmers to sell there.
Starting in 2018, the DCFTA will require all Georgian agricultural exports to meet EU standards, including having an official certificate of origin. Even if Abkhazian farmers could get a Georgian certificate, it would be considered an act of national betrayal. Their nuts will thus be barred from Nutella’s mixing vats.
First off, I will admit that I don’t pay a ton of attention to the subtleties and not-so-subtleties of the entities, sub-entities, and nonentities of the former USSR. But Abkhazia? Never heard of it. When I first saw the name in print, what came to mind was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
But come to find out, Abkhazia is in fact a real place. And I suspect that it’s a real place every bit as dreary as most of the entities, sub-entities, and nonentities that once comprised the USSR. Although I wouldn’t mind seeing the Baltics (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), most of the –stans (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan), Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan – aren’t on my bucket list. And I’m now adding Abkhazia to my non-bucket list as well. (Sorry, Abkhazia, so many places to see, so little time interest…)
Anyway, once Abkhazia can no longer sell it’s hazelnuts through to Nutella, that may be it for the Abkhazian hazelnut farmers. Abkhazia’s loyalty is to Russia, not Georgia.
“Russia is our strategic partner, and demand for hazelnuts is low there,” says Adgur Ardzinba, the economy minister in Abkhazia’s self-proclaimed government, which only Russia and a few other states recognise. “We have to give priority to products that are in high demand [in Russia], such as citrus and wine.”
As if that weren’t bad enough news for those hazelnut farmers.
An infestation of brown marmorated stinkbugs has devastated the harvest in both Abkhazia and Georgia. Sweet-toothed Europeans need not panic: the Nutella supply is probably not at risk. But the secessionist dispute prevents Georgia and Abkhazia from working together properly to stop the pests.
Can’t even get together to rid all those innocent hazelnuts from the marmorated stinkbug, eh?
And I thought our politics were foolish and fractious…
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*Thanks to Wikipedia, I now know that the Ferrero Rocher gets part of its name – the Rocher part – from a grotto at the shrine in Lourdes. What, are they made with holy water or something?
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