The first difficulty a shell buyer runs into is not price. It is scatter. Hazelnut shell comes from one region, apricot kernel shell from another entirely, olive pomace from a third. Each means a separate contact, a separate exchange of messages, a separate payment arrangement and a separate risk.

This article puts the whole picture on one map: which shell item comes out of which geography in Türkiye, and how that feeds into a supply plan.

The geography of the shell is the geography of the crop

Shell is not produced on its own. It is what remains after a fruit or an olive is processed. So the map of the shell is the map of the plants that process that crop. Where processing is concentrated, shell comes out in collectable volume and on a regular rhythm. Where processing is scattered, shell comes out in small amounts, in varying quality, and irregularly.

The table below gives that map item by item.

Item	Source geography	Supply pattern
Hazelnut shell	Black Sea coastal belt	High volume, tied to the cracking season
Apricot kernel shell	Malatya and its surroundings	Regular, cracking lines run heavily
Peach kernel shell	Fruit processing regions	Limited volume, fluctuating
Almond shell	Aegean and Mediterranean	Medium volume, season-dependent
Walnut shell	Provinces with cracking plants	Spread across the year
Pistachio shell	Southeastern Anatolia	Concentrates after harvest
Olive pomace pellet	Aegean and Mediterranean olive regions	Tied to the olive pressing period
Pine pellet	Regions with forest products industry	Year-round, depends on plant capacity

The calendar: when each item becomes plentiful

What all shell items have in common is that their availability follows the harvest and processing calendar. In broad strokes:

Summer — the apricot harvest and drying finish; kernel separation begins.
Late summer to autumn — the hazelnut harvest ends and cracking picks up; pistachio is harvested.
Autumn to winter — olive pressing continues, and pomace output depends on this period; for most shell items cracking is at its heaviest.
Winter to spring — output slows down and shipments are largely made from stock.

Here is the point that matters: demand for shell fuel peaks in winter, but shell output is not indexed to winter. The only thing that closes that gap is a stock plan. Agreeing the annual tonnage at the start of the season and drawing it down in batches is the practical way through it; our supplier selection guide covers what to look for when setting that up.

Why the differences between items matter to the buyer

Different source geographies produce three practical consequences for the buyer:

1. Volumes are not equal. Hazelnut shell and apricot kernel shell are regular, high-volume items. Peach kernel shell fluctuates more, because the volume of fruit processed behind it is lower. Knowing this distinction while building an annual programme keeps you from committing to something that cannot be held.

2. Freight distance changes by item. Two different items going to the same delivery point are loaded from different regions, so they carry different freight. You can find the detail of transport options on our shipping and logistics page.

3. Each vehicle is loaded with a single item. Different items are not mixed in the same bed. For a buyer who wants more than one item, vehicles are planned consecutively; the blend is made at the buyer’s own yard. In practice this means the spread of items translates directly into the number of vehicles.

What a single point of contact is worth

For the buyer, this map comes down to one question: six separate companies in six separate regions, or all of it coordinated from one place?

Running it through a single contact means, concretely:

One line of correspondence, one set of delivery terms, one payment arrangement.
Items can be planned on consecutive vehicles; the buyer does not have to chase loadings from different regions in the same week.
When supply tightens on one item, the alternative can be discussed at the same table.

There is a limit to this, and it should be said up front: a single contact does not mean unlimited stock independent of the season. Some items are season-bound. When a programme is set up, which item is comfortable in which period and tight in which period is stated openly.

To request

You can see all items and their technical detail on the products page. How much of which item, how often, and to which delivery point — once those three are known, the plan can be discussed. Send your enquiry through the contact page.