Europe is famous for its fresh produce, from saint marzano tomatoes to sweet Belgian pears. But how many fruits and vegetables does the European Union harvest, and which countries produce the largest amounts?
Recent Eurostat data shows that the EU produced 62.2 million tonnes of vegetables in 2024. This is a 6% increase from 58.8 million tonnes harvested in 2023.
Spain is the top vegetable producer, with between 13.5 million tonnes and 108.8 million tonnes in 2023, and has been the top vegetable producer for the past decade.
Spain is closely followed by 13.9 million tonnes of Italy.
All other EU countries have produced significantly smaller yields. France ranked third, with 5.8 million tonnes. The top three vegetable producers in the EU account for 55% of their yields.
The top five are rounded by Poland at 5.23 million tons, while the Netherlands at 5.1 million tons.
On the other side of the scale are Luxembourg (10,530 tons), Estonia (28,210 tons), and Malta (45,770 tons).
Production of some major vegetable has increased throughout the EU compared to 2023. Tomato production increased by 5% to 16.8 million tonnes. Carrot production increased by 6% to 4.7 million tonnes, while onion production rose 11% to 7 million tonnes.
Italy is the largest producer of tomatoes. The 6 million tonnes harvested in 2024 accounted for more than 36% (36%) of the total yield of this product. Since records began, the country has been the top tomato producer.
Meanwhile, Germany produces the most carrots (850,580 tonnes), accounting for 18% of the total EU harvest. Previously, Poland held its top position until 2019.
Finally, the Dutch produced about a quarter (26%) of the EU harvested onions, winning 1.8 million tonnes.
Italy ranks top of the fruit production rankings
In 2024, the EU produced 24.3 million tonnes of fruit, berries and nuts (excluding citrus fruits, grapes and strawberries), a 2% decrease compared to the 2023 harvest.
In this ranking, Italy produced 5.4 million tonnes of fruit from 4.95 million tonnes in 2023, earning its first spot as the top fruit producer.
Spain (4.3 million tonnes) and Poland (4.1 million tonnes). The top three producers accounted for more than half (57%) of the EU fruit harvest.
Apples are the most harvested fruit in the EU, producing 11.6 million tonnes. Poland accounted for 29% (3.39 million tons) of the total amount. Italy and France are other major apple producers, harvesting 2.4 million tonnes and 1.99 million tonnes in 2024, respectively.
In 2024, approximately 2 million tonnes (1.9 million tonnes) of pears were produced throughout the EU. Italy is a top-pen producer, accounting for almost a quarter (24%) of the EU total.
Finally, the EU harvested 2.2 million tonnes of peaches. Spain (37%), Italy (33%) and Greece (21%) combined to account for 91% of the yield.
