The world’s population keeps growing, while its resources are dwindling, so the largest fruit and vegetable producing countries in the world are becoming more and more important.
It has become increasingly important over the past few decades that we increase production of vegetables, fruits and anything else us humans need to consume in order to live, lest we end up in a shortage that could drive up the prices. Some of the largest agricultural countries, such as China, USA, and Thailand are the ones keeping the world afloat, supplying loads of products to all corners of the globe. It does not mean, however, that without them we’d go into a famine, as all countries manage on their own just fine – we’d just end up losing loads of the vegetables and fruits that we’re now taking for granted.
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For instance, the largest grain producers in the world, such as Germany who makes a lot of Rye, or China, who is the largest producer of wheat in the world in 2016, are also important exporters of these particular grains. China is, of course, also the largest rice producing country. When it comes to who’s the largest producer of pulses in the world, then India is by far the largest, with estimates putting production at 1 million tonnes in 2014.
If you’re interested, you can also take a look at our list of 8 countries that produce the most grain in the world, or the list of the 10 most advanced countries in agriculture, which should help give you some perspective of the state of the world.
In order to create our list today, we looked up for world agricultural production statistics, which we found at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, which has data on all types of crops from all over the world, although we should mention the freshest data on our list is from 2014. We looked up data for fruits and vegetables and handed out points by taking into consideration the production they reported. We handed out points to the first 20 nations on each list, crosschecked them and came up with the final results.
That being said, here are the largest fruit and vegetable producing countries in the world.
10. Egypt
Points: 22
First on our list is Egypt, a country that managed to produce over 11.6 million tonnes of fruits and 19.3 million tonnes of vegetables in 2014.
Egypt exports large quantities of citrus fruits, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and other similar fruits, as well as grapes, dates, figs, and more, both fresh or dried.
When it comes to vegetables, Egypt’s largest export group is onions, shallots, garlic, leeks and other similar vegetables, followed by potatoes, dried leguminous veggies, and tomatoes, both fresh and chilled or frozen.
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9. Spain
Points: 24
Next, we have Spain, a nation that produced over 17.7 million tonnes of fruits and 14.1 million tonnes of vegetables.
The European country produces loads of fresh fruit and vegetables and is known to export primarily citrus fruits, both fresh and dries, as well as strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and other similar fruits, as well as apricots, cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums and so on.
When it comes to vegetables, Spain is known for its exports of tomatoes, lettuce and chicory, cucumbers, onions, garlic, leeks and more, both fresh, chilled and frozen.
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8. Iran
Points: 24
Iran is up next on our list of largest fruit and vegetable producing countries in the world, a country that produced 12.7 million tonnes of fruits and another 21.4 million tonnes of vegetables.
The country exports primarily multiple types of nuts, as well as grapes, dates, figs, fresh strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and other similar fruits, as well as melons, apples, and pears.
In terms of vegetables, Iran’s largest exports in this category come from cucumbers and gherkins, cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes, onions, garlic, leek and other similar vegetables, fresh, chilled or frozen.
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7. Brazil
Points: 24
Beautiful Brazil is next. The country managed to produce 37.4 million tonnes fruits last year, as well as 11.7 million tonnes vegetables.
Some of the best fruits come from the here. The country’s fruit exports focus on melons, dates, figs, avocados, guavas, mangos, and pineapples, as well as coconuts, Brazilian nuts and cashew, citrus fruits and grapes, plus, of course, bananas. No wonder it’s on our list of the largest fruit and vegetable producing countries in the world.
When it comes to vegetables, Brazil exports loads of dried leguminous vegetables, roots and tubers of manioc, arrowroot, sweet potatoes and other similar produce, onions, garlic, leeks, carrots, turnips and more, both fresh, chilled or frozen.
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6. Turkey
Points: 26
In 2016, Turkey produced 14.2 million tonnes of fruits and 28.1 million tonnes of vegetables.
Turkey’s main fruit exports are various types of nuts, citrus fruits, grapes, apricots, prunes, apples, peaches, pears, as well as dates, figs, apricots, cherries, peaches, and nectarines, to name a few.
In terms of vegetables, Turkey exports loads of leguminous vegetables, tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, onions, carrots, turnips, and more, both fresh or chilled, as well as dried whole, cut or powdered.
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5. Mexico
Points: 26
Up next on our list of largest fruit and vegetable producing countries in the world, we have Mexico, a country that in 2016 produced 17.8 million tonnes of fruit and 14.2 million tonnes of vegetables.
The country that lies south of the United States is one of the largest producers of fruits and vegetables in the world. The country exports loads of fruits, including dates, figs, avocados, mangoes, guavas, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and other similar fruits, as well nuts, melons, and citrus.
In terms of vegetables, Mexico exports loads of things, including tomatoes, cucumbers and gherkins, onions, garlic, leeks, cabbage, cauliflower and many others, both fresh and chilled, as well as frozen.
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4. USA
Points: 33
Next, we have the United States of America, a country that produced nearly 26 million tonnes of fruit in 2016, and 36.5 million tonnes of vegetables.
The United States is one of the world’s largest importers, but it also exports loads of things, including fruits. More specifically, the number one product the US exports from the fruit category is nuts, both fresh or dried, followed by grapes, apples, pears, citrus, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and others similar. They also export Apricots, cherries, peaches, bananas and more.
The US also exports vegetables, starting with cabbages, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, shallots, garlic, leeks, potatoes and more, both fresh or chilled, as well as steamed and frozen.
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3. India
Points: 36
On the third spot of the largest fruit and vegetable producing countries in the world, we have India, a nation that produced 88 million tonnes of fruit in 2016, and a whopping 126.5 million tonnes of vegetables.
India may be one of the largest producers of vegetables in the world, next to China, but it also exports quite a bit of what it makes. Primarily, India exports coconuts and cashew nuts, as well as grapes, dates, figs, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and other similar products, as well as bananas and other types of nuts, both fresh and dried or sweetened.
In terms of vegetables, India once more exports loads of products. The largest group of vegetables it sells to other countries is made of onions, shallots, garlic and leeks, followed by dried leguminous vegetables, tomatoes, potatoes and more. The country also exports loads of dried or preserved vegetables.
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2. Hong Kong
Points: 38
Next up is Hong Kong, which is responsible for producing 158 million tonnes of fruits and 596 million tonnes of vegetables.
This particular area is responsible for exporting loads of fruit and vegetables, including strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, apricots, cherries, peaches, grapes, citrus, apples, pears, dates, figs, coconuts and more, both fresh and dried.
When it comes to vegetables, Hong Kong exports large amounts of dried vegetables, whether whole, cut, sliced, broken, or in powder. Furthermore, they sell lettuce and chicory, steamed vegetables, onions, shallots, garlic, leeks, carrots, turnips, cabbage, cauliflower, and numerous types of roots.
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1. China
Points: 40
Finally, at the top of our list, we find China, a nation that produced 160 million tonnes of fruits and 598 million tonnes of vegetables in 2016.
China exports tonnes of fruits and vegetables. More specifically, when it comes to fruits, China sells grapes, dates, figs, melons, nuts, apples, pears, dried apricots, prunes, apples, peaches and other similar fruits, frozen fruits, coconuts, citrus and more.
In terms of vegetables, China primary export lies in dried vegetables, whether whole, cut, sliced, broken or in powder, followed by onions, shallots, garlic, leeks, cabbages, cauliflowers, carrots, turnips and more, including dried leguminous vegetables, fresh or chilled produce.
It’s important that we manage to keep our changing climate in check unless we want many of our crops and fruits to disappear. Already, many are being affected by extreme weather conditions, higher temperatures and so on. Hopefully, the outputs will continue growing, and we’re not going to start seeing shortages as the population continues growing. This being said, it’s also important that the world starts doing something about all the food that we’re throwing away either because we don’t consume it or because it doesn’t look picture-perfect.
Either way, these have been the 10 largest fruit and vegetable producing countries in the world.
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