By Muhammed Ali Gurtas 

ANKARA

Turkey's hazelnut exports totaled 118,335 tons in September-December 2018, a trade group announced on Friday. 

The Black Sea Hazelnut and Products Exporters' Union (KFMIB) reported that Turkey earned $657.6 million from hazelnut exports during the first four months of the season. 

With 76.7 percent of total exports, the EU was the top market for Turkey's hazelnut exports.

The union figures showed that 41.7 percent of the country's hazelnut exports were processed products worth $278.8 million, while the rest were raw hazelnuts.

Turkey -- the world's largest hazelnut exporter -- earned $1.78 billion with nearly 287,000 tons of hazelnut exports last season, from September 2017 to the end of August 2018.