10 World’s Most Popular Agricultural commodities from Spain
10 World’s Most Popular Agricultural commodities from Spain- According to FAO Statistical Corporate Database (FAOSTAT), there are 10 World’s Most Popular Agricultural Product from Spain. These agricultural products basically have huge production of Spain, and many Spanish people or farmers produced these products.
Spain is basically one of the European countries located in Southwestern of Europe. Relating to the economic conditions with total population around 48 million of people until 2022, Spanish economic is one of the biggest in the Europe Region. According to IMF Report, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Spain in 2022 reached USD 1,418 billion and GDP per capita in the range of USD 33,090. More specifically, based on the economic sector, the service and industries sectors still become economic drivers in Spanish. According to Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), Service sector contributing around 74,6% of Spanish’s GDP meanwhile industry contributes around 22.5% of total GDP in Spain.
Of all sectors, agriculture sector in Spain contributes just around 2.9% but this sector has strategic role in providing the nutrition, foods, feed, and indirectly influence the human development in Spain. As one of the developed countries in the world, Spain has some popular agriculture products. This product basically was the most produced in Spain in the year of 2021. Here are the ranks of 10 World’s Most Popular Agricultural Commodities from Spain. All the data was obtained from FAO Statistical Corporate Database (FAOSTAT) in 2023.
The Rank of 10 World’s Most Popular Agricultural Commodities from Spain
| Rank | Agricultural Commodities | Production in 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| (Tons) | ||
| 1 | Barley | 9,275,920 |
| 2 | Wheat | 8,564,630 |
| 3 | Olives | 8,256,550 |
| 4 | Raw milk of cattle | 7,623,090 |
| 5 | Grapes | 6,086,920 |
| 6 | Meat of pig with the bone, fresh or chilled | 5,180,060 |
| 7 | Tomatoes | 4,754,380 |
| 8 | Maize (corn) | 4,597,660 |
| 9 | Oranges | 3,604,800 |
| 10 | Sugar beet | 2,506,290 |
Source : FAO Statistical Corporate Database (FAOSTAT), 2023 | ||
Brief Description of 10 World’s Most Popular Agricultural Commodities from Spain
1. Barley
Barley still becomes the most cultivated and most popular crop in Spain, with an cultivated areas about three million hectares (Moreno, 2017). The majority usage of barley in Spain was for animal feed, approximately 92% of the Spanish total cultivated areas is devoted to animal feed. In Spanish language, the barley is called by “cebada”. Geographically, the barley cultivation in Spain can be found mostly in the several regions including Castilla y Leon, Andalusia, Aragon, Castilla-La Mancha. Furthermore, according to FAOSTAT in 2023, the production of Barley from Spain reached 9,275,920 tons.
2. Wheat
Wheat Commodity still became the 2nd most produced in Spain. Statistically, the production of Whet from Spain in 2021 reached 8,564,630 tons according to FAOSTAT database. In Spain, geographically, the main cultivation areas can be found in North and South areas. The northern part includes the Castilla y León region, and the southern part includes parts of Castilla La Mancha, Extremadura and Andalucía (Royo & Briceño-Félix, 2011).
Commonly, the type of wheat crops can be distinguished into bread wheat and durum wheat. The bread wheat is grown mostly in the regions of Castilla y León (43% of total area) and Castilla La Mancha (16% of total area). Furthermore, the Durum Wheat in Spain is concentrated in Andalusia (57%), Zaragoza (28%), Badajoz (7%), and Toledo (5%). Genetically, bread wheat varieties which commonly cultivated are Soissons, Berdun, Marius, Craklin. In addition, the durum wheat varieties which commonly planted are Nuño, Yavaros, Gallareta, Vitron, Don Pedro, Sula, Claudio, Colosseo, Simeto.
3. Olives
Olives also become one of the most cultivated and most popular plants in Spain. The production of olive from Spain according to FAO Statistical Corporate Database reached 8,256,550 tons. Particularly, cultivation areas of olives was around 2 million hectares more or less. Functionally, olives can be processed into several products, namely olives oil, soaps, shampoos, and other beauty products. Geographically, most of the olive plants in Spain are concentrated in Andalusia. Based on its genotypes, some of the olive cultivars which commonly planted in Splain were Picual, Comicabra, Hojiblanca, Lechin de Sevilla, Arbequina, Manzanilla de Sevilla, and others (Barranco & Rallo, 2000).
4. Raw milk of cattle
Besides as a nutritious drink, milk in this country also be processed into cheese, yogurts, desserts and other industrial products. Geographically, the main production of cattle’s milk from Spain can located in Galicia, Castile & Leon, Catalonia, Andalusia, and Cantabria. According to FAO Statistical corporate Database, the total production areas of cattle’s milk from Spain reached 7,623,090 tons in 2021.
5. Grapes
The production of grapes from Spain reached 6,086,920 tons in 2021 according to FAO Statistical Corporate Database (FAOSTAT). The grapes can be processed into wine or consumed directly. In Spain, relating to wine industries, there are the standardized wine regions. It is called denominaciones de origen protegidas (DOP), amounting to 96 of DOP. Some of the cultivars of wine Grapes which commonly planted are Cabernet Sauvignon, merlot or Sauvignon Blanc.
6. Meat of pig
The meat of pig also become the other popular agricultural products from Spain. According to FAOSTAT, the production of meat of pig from Spain achieved 5,180,060 tons. Geographically, in Spain, the pig farming concentrated in Catalonia, Aragon, Castile and Leon, and Andalusia. Genetically, there is a pig in Spain. Iberian pig is autochthonous porcine from Iberian Peninsula which can be found in West Andalusia, Extremadura, and Salamanca.
7. Tomatoes
Tomatoes is one of the most produced horticulture products in Spain. In the year of 2021, the production of tomatoes from Spain reached 4,754,380 tons according to FAO Statistical Corporate Database. Geographically, the tomatoes production areas in Spain are concentrated in the Southeast of the peninsula (Valencia, Alicante, Murcia and Almeria), the Ebro River Valley (Navarra, Rioja and Saragossa), Extremadura and the Canaries (Tello, 1998). Furthermore, in this country, culturally, there are La Tomatina festival. Specifically, La Tomatina is a throwing tomatoes festival which is held in the Valencian. Many people in this festival throw tomatoes at one another participants just for entertainment.
8. Maize (corn)
Spain could produce of maize around 4,597,660 tons in 2021. Geographically, the regions of maize can be found in this country. Andalusia, Aragon, Castila La mancha, and Galicia are some of the most cultivated areas of maize in Spain. In Spain, the maize can be processed maize flour, diverse recipes of “talo” and “gofio” (Revilla et al., 2022).
9. Oranges
Oranges in Spain also becomes the popular fruits. Statistically, the production of Oranges in Spain reached 3,604,800 tons. Genetically, the Spanish oranges can be differentiated into some types including the Spanish sweet orange contributing around 48% of all cultivated areas, mandarin oranges (37% of all cultivated areas) and lemon (14% of all cultivated areas). Geographically, there are also some main production areas of oranges. It is located in the Region of Valencia, Andalusia, Murcia (Alcon et al., 2019).
10. Sugar beet
The production of Sugar beer in Spain reached 2,506,290 tons. Geographically, the production of Sugar beet in Spain located in Castilla-y-León region (Sánchez-Sastre, 2020). Furthermore, genetically, some of the sugar beet cultivars which planted in Spain are Estepa, Soraanda, Lugano, Pepite, Ave and Millenium. In this country, sugar beet is processed into sugar.
The Summary of 10 World’s Most Popular Agricultural commodities from Spain
Bibliography of 10 World’s Most Popular Agricultural commodities from Spain
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