In the southern hemisphere,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

is the largest producer of hazelnut with most of the production exported to

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and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The history of hazelnut cultivation can be traced back to 19th century

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and Swiss immigrants in Araucanía. Large plantations of hazelnut are however a new phenomenon from the 2000s onward. Cultivation is centered in Central and South-central Chile. In 2016 Chile exported about 6,500 ton hazelnuts. Chilean hazelnuts are described by

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...

as an alternative to Turkish hazelnuts that dominate the international market. Hazelnuts grown in Chile should no be confused with the native nuts of ''

Gevuina avellana ''Gevuina avellana'' (Chilean hazelnut ( in Spanish), or ''Gevuina hazelnut''), is an evergreen tree, up to 20 meters (65 feet) tall. It is the only species currently classified in the genus ''Gevuina''. It is native to southern Chile and adjace ...

'' that grow in

Valdivian temperate rain forest The Valdivian temperate forests (NT0404) is an ecoregion on the west coast of southern South America, in Chile and Argentina. It is part of the Neotropical realm. The forests are named after the city of Valdivia. The Valdivian temperate rainfore ...

, a tree that is called Chilean hazel. The species are not closely related.

References

Agriculture in Chile {{Chile-stub