Carrot production

CARROT

Carrots are one of the ten most economically important vegetable crops in the world. In 2013, world production of carrots (combined with turnips) was 37.2 million tonnes, with China producing 45% of the world total (16.8 million tonnes, table). Other major producers were Uzbekistan and Russia (4% of world total each), the United States (3%) and Ukraine (2%).

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02

03

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05

China, mainland

16,829,000 T

UZBEKISTAN

RUSSIA

UNITED STATES

UCRAINE

1,290,285 T

930,100 T

1,604,656 T.

1,641,882 T

The Top 5 Carrot Producing Countries

Online resources http://www.worldatlas.com

For the Etwinning project Food2ExploreOŠ Kosta AbraševićBelgrade, Serbia

To get us started, we have China on top of the list of countries that produce the most carrots and turnips. Its total produce of both the vegetables has been calculated to be nearly 17 million tons a year. Believe it or not, China produces around a third of the total global production of carrots, which shows the country’s excellent production abilities which extend to a number of other vegetable crops as well. The first carrots to make their way to China, which came from Afghanistan and Persia back in the fourteenth century, were in vivid shades of yellow, red, and purple. Contributing to their immense production in the country today, the Chinese have come to appreciate carrots’ nutritional values to the point that carrots are referred to as ‘little ginseng’ in the country.

On the second position in this list is Uzbekistan, with its total produce of carrots and turnips estimated to be over 1.5 million tons a year. With such colossal cultivation efforts, Uzbekistan also happens to be one of the leading exporters of carrots and turnips.

The next top producer of carrots and turnips is Russia, which produces slightly over 1.5 million tons as well. Turnips have particularly been very popular among Russians, and are actually considered an ‘aboriginal’ Russian vegetable.

The United States places number four on our list for its high production of outputs of these root crops. It is estimated that the US produces nearly 1.3 million tons of carrots and turnips annually. While two-thirds of the US crop is produced for the fresh market, nearly 94% of American carrot production is grown in seven states. These include California, Texas, Washington, Michigan, Florida, Colorado and Wisconsin. In fact, California actually produces 63% of the country’s total carrot and turnip output.

Ukraine produces roughly 930 thousand tons of carrots and turnips a year. For the record, Ukraine happens to be the biggest producer of carrots and turnips solely in Europe, as part of Russia lies in Asia. It was as late as 2012 that it finally surpassed Poland, a traditional leader in carrot and turnip production, with a surge of increased harvested volume. Duly, Poland is next in line, with a total output of carrots and turnips amounting to about 742.5 thousand tons a year. Other important carrot- and turnip-producing countries include the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Turkey, France and the Netherlands.