ISOLATED by the Black Sea and Russia, Georgia has spent the past few decades binding itself closer to the rest of Europe. In this effort, hazelnuts play a crucial role. In 2007 Ferrero, an Italian company, set up a branch in Georgia to supply the key ingredient of its signature product: Nutella, the chocolate-hazelnut paste that is the most European of all breakfast spreads. The country has since become the world’s third-largest producer, behind Turkey and Italy. Hazelnuts are Georgia’s biggest export after copper ore.

In 2014 Georgia and the European Union concluded a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA). 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.

Cutting Abkhazia off from Europe will leave it even more dependent on Russia. “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.” The only process that could lead to normalisation of relations with Georgia is the peace talks between the two sides in Geneva. But those are going nowhere, and trade has not been on their agenda.

Meanwhile, the region’s hazelnuts face a more immediate foe. 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. Although cocoa powder and hazelnuts make an excellent blend, commerce and nationalism do not.