Some of the most common nuts used in baking - including walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds - have risen sharply in price because of bad weather in the US, turkey and Vietnam.

Severe drought in California and the collapse of the bee population there have affected almond and walnut prices in particular. US almond prices have now been on an upward trend since June 2013, rising 15% to £5,056/tonne, and are now at levels not seen since 2005. The US is the biggest global producer of almonds, accounting for 80% of world output; California is the largest producing state, so the weather there has a big market impact.

The US is also responsible for 60% of world shipments of walnuts, so the dry weather has had a similar impact on that market. Because of the limited supplies from the US, walnut prices from India, which is the biggest exporter to the EU, have risen 15% since the end of May and now stand at £8,783/tonne.

Meanwhile, in Turkey unseasonal frosts at the end of March have hit production. The cold snap has had a devastating impact on the apricot crop, causing prices to more than double year on year, and it has also had a big effect on hazelnut prices. Initial fears caused Turkish hazelnut prices to double in April, and although the outlook has since improved, prices still stand at £5,779/tonne, up more than 30% year on year.

Vietnamese cashew nut prices have also risen sharply, climbing 31% year on year to £2,790/tonne because of bad weather. The full extent of the damage is not yet known, but production is estimated to be down about 30% on last year because of heavy rains earlier in the year. Vietnam accounts for 30% of global cashew nut production.

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