10 World’s Largest Producers of Chestnuts- According to FAO Statistical Corporate Database (FAOSTAT), there are 10 World’s Largest Producers of Chestnuts 2021. These countries basically have a large number of Chestnuts.
Nutritionally, in chestnuts, According to FoodData Central, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the chestnuts contain nutritious substances which are good for human health. These contents are Calcium, Proteins, Lipid, Potassium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Zinc, and others. Furthermore, the amount of the contents can be viewed in the picture below.
Taxonomically, chestnut plants can be classified into Kingdom: Plantae, Phylum: Tracheophyta, Class: Magnoliopsida, Order: Fagales, Family: Fagaceae, Genus: Castanea Mill. The Chestnut can be divided into different species of plants. American chestnuts include species of Castanea dentata, Castanea pumila, Castanea ozarkensis, Castanea Chrysophylla. Meanwhile, Asian chestnuts include Castanea mollissima, Castanea henryi, Castanea seguinii, Castanea crenata. Furthermore, European chestnuts include Castanea sativa. Due to its classification into the fagaceae family, this plant still has close relationships with chinquapin, stone oaks, and chinkapin.
The World’s Harvested Areas and World’s Production of Chestnuts From 1970 to 2021
| Years | World’s Harvested Areas of Chesnut | World’s Production of Chesnut |
|---|---|---|
| (Hectares) | (Tons) | |
| 1970 | 136,380 | 565,272 |
| 1971 | 114,160 | 487,598 |
| 1972 | 117,000 | 503,913 |
| 1973 | 117,800 | 534,189 |
| 1974 | 112,200 | 453,514 |
| 1975 | 117,300 | 452,088 |
| 1976 | 117,800 | 465,750 |
| 1977 | 131,500 | 461,230 |
| 1978 | 137,400 | 480,431 |
| 1979 | 141,000 | 528,433 |
| 1980 | 133,000 | 472,013 |
| 1981 | 122,800 | 456,294 |
| 1982 | 123,500 | 448,313 |
| 1983 | 125,800 | 450,139 |
| 1984 | 126,400 | 406,777 |
| 1985 | 231,470 | 414,011 |
| 1986 | 240,740 | 449,818 |
| 1987 | 245,535 | 492,590 |
| 1988 | 246,125 | 497,696 |
| 1989 | 247,625 | 470,598 |
| 1990 | 252,188 | 484,076 |
| 1991 | 239,767 | 626,451 |
| 1992 | 255,684 | 674,590 |
| 1993 | 248,962 | 637,331 |
| 1994 | 252,934 | 690,977 |
| 1995 | 247,549 | 676,228 |
| 1996 | 270,166 | 677,291 |
| 1997 | 285,812 | 788,775 |
| 1998 | 295,692 | 832,928 |
| 1999 | 290,156 | 886,166 |
| 2000 | 291,460 | 940,588 |
| 2001 | 304,562 | 945,991 |
| 2002 | 320,647 | 1,040,232 |
| 2003 | 342,879 | 1,133,906 |
| 2004 | 372,084 | 1,267,036 |
| 2005 | 383,620 | 1,368,355 |
| 2006 | 421,134 | 1,496,135 |
| 2007 | 442,668 | 1,604,773 |
| 2008 | 474,089 | 1,796,444 |
| 2009 | 504,986 | 1,906,931 |
| 2010 | 522,977 | 1,999,712 |
| 2011 | 522,090 | 2,037,261 |
| 2012 | 532,303 | 2,056,157 |
| 2013 | 543,957 | 2,090,054 |
| 2014 | 532,161 | 2,038,760 |
| 2015 | 532,226 | 2,012,720 |
| 2016 | 521,646 | 1,975,249 |
| 2017 | 518,090 | 1,946,996 |
| 2018 | 552,516 | 2,224,087 |
| 2019 | 568,598 | 2,245,806 |
| 2020 | 572,575 | 2,272,834 |
| 2021 | 568,175 | 2,269,924 |
| Source : FAOSTAT, 2023 | ||
The statistical trends of world’s production and harvested areas of chestnuts was in the increasing trends. In the year of 1970, the world’s harvested areas were around 136,380 hectares and world’s production of chestnuts around 565,272 tons. After more than 50 years, exactly in 2021, the world’s harvested areas and production have increased drastically. In 2021, the world’s harvested areas and world’s production had become 568,175 hectares and 2,269,924 tons.
The World’s Production of Chestnuts Based on Continent in 2021
| Continent | Production of Chesnut in 2021 |
|---|---|
| (Tons) | |
| Africa | 239 |
| Americas | 85,005 |
| Asia | 1,865,163 |
| Europe | 319,516 |
| Source :FAOSTAT, 2023 | |
According to continental regions, Asia still become the main region of chestnut cultivation areas in 2021. According to data of FAOSTAT in 2023, the production of chestnuts from Asia reached 1,865,163 tons. Meanwhile, Europe still became the second biggest region with production of chestnuts reaching 319 thousand tons. The Americas are the next positions with production around 85 thousand tons.
Based on the country data, there are 10 World’s Largest Producers of Chestnuts in 2021. These data were obtained from FAO Statistical Corporate Database (FAOSTAT) in 2023. Here is the rank of 10 World’s Largest Producers of chestnuts.
The Rank of 10 World’s Largest Producers of chestnuts
| Rank | Country | Production of Chesnut in 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| (Tons) | ||
| 1 | China, mainland | 1,703,653 |
| 2 | Spain | 187,680 |
| 3 | Bolivia (Plurinational State of) | 81,327 |
| 4 | Türkiye | 77,792 |
| 5 | Republic of Korea | 54,973 |
| 6 | Italy | 43,000 |
| 7 | Portugal | 37,150 |
| 8 | Greece | 32,900 |
| 9 | Japan | 15,700 |
| 10 | Democratic People’s Republic of Korea | 12,469 |
| Source : FAOSTAT, 2023 | ||
Brief Description of 10 World’s Largest Producers of chestnuts
1. China, mainland
China still became the biggest producer of chestnuts in 2021. According to FAOSTAT in 2023, the production of chestnuts from China reached 1,703,653 tons. Geographically, the main region of chestnut cultivation areas in China is in Qianxin county, Hebei Province.
2. Spain
Spain is the second biggest producer of chestnuts in 2021. Statistically, according to FAOSTAT in 2023, the production of chestnuts from China reached 187,680 tons. Geographically, in Spain, the main regions of chestnuts can be found in Galicia, Castilla-León (El Bierzo), Salamanca, Cáceres, Ávila, Tenerife, La Palma, Gomera and El Hierro (Pereira-Lorenzo, 2009).
3. Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
Bolivia also has huge production of chestnuts in 2021. According to FAOSTAT in 2021, the production of chestnuts from Bolivia reached 81,327 tons in 2021. Geographically, In Bolivia, the chestnut cultivation area can be found in Northen Amazon region.
4. Türkiye
Türkiye also became the 4th world’s largest producer of chestnut in 2021. According to FAOSTAT in 2021, the production of chestnuts from Türkiye reached 77,792 tons. Geographically, in Türkiye, there are main regions of chestnut growing areas. These are in Black Sea, Marmara, and Aegean Regions in Türkiye (Bozoğlu et al., 2019). Genetically, in Türkiye, there are some cultivars of chestnuts in Türkiye. These cultivars include Osmanoglu,’ ‘Sarıaslama,’ ‘Firdola’ and ‘Hacıomer’.
5. Republic of Korea
The Republic of Korea also became the 5th world’s largest producer of chestnuts in 2021. Statistically, the production of chestnuts from the Republic of Korea reached 54,973 tons. Genetically, there are some cultivars of chestnuts from the Republic of Korea. These include Jahong and Arima (Kim et al., 2014).
6. Italy
Italy still one of the largest producers of chestnuts in 2021. Statistically, the production of chestnuts from Italy reached 43,000 tons. Geographically, in Italy, there are some regions of chestnut cultivation areas. These cultivation areas of chestnuts of Italy can be found in Province of Verona, Province of Avellino, Vallerano, Mugello, Province of Cuneo, Province of Treviso, and province of Turin.
7. Portugal
Portugal also has a huge production of chestnuts in 2021. According to FAOSTAT in 2021, the production of Portugal reached 37,150 tons. Geographically, in Portugal, there are some main cultivation areas of Chestnuts. These include Padrela, Terra Fria, Soutos de Lapa, and Marvao-Porto Allegre.
8. Greece
Greece also has a huge production of chestnuts in 2021. According to FAOSTAT in 2021, the production of chestnut from Greece reached 32,900 tons. Geographically, Chestnuts can be found in Greece Specifically, in Macedonian forests in the north and all the way down to Cretan mountains in the south has approximately 55.000 hectares in total.
9. Japan
Japan is the one of the world’s largest producers of chestnuts in 2021. Based on the data of FAOSTAT in 2023, the production of chestnuts from Japan reached 15,700 tons. Geographically, in Japan, Ibaraki Prefecture is the leading chestnut-producing region.
10. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has huge production of chestnuts in 2021. Statistically, the production of chestnuts from this country reached 12,469 tons.
The Summary of 10 World’s Largest Producers of Chestnuts
Bibliography of 10 World’s Largest Producers of Chestnuts
FDC. 2023. Nuts, chestnuts, Chinese, raw. Accessed via https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170164/nutrients on November 6th, 2023.
FAOSTAT. 2023. Chestnuts. Accessed via https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL/visualize on November 6th, 2023.
GBIF. 2023. Castanea sativa Mill. Accessed via https://www.gbif.org/species/5333294 on November 6th, 2023.
Pereira-Lorenzo, S., Díaz-Hernández, B., & Ramos-Cabrer, A. (2009). Chestnut in Spain, from nut and timber production to industry. In I European Congress on Chestnut-Castanea 2009 866 (pp. 499-503).
Bozoğlu, M., Başer, U., Alhas Eroglu, N., & Kilic Topuz, B. (2019). Developments in the chestnut market of Turkey. KSU TARIM VE DOGA DERGISI-KSU JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURE, 22(1).
Kim, M., Lee, U., & Park, Y. (2014). ‘Jahong’: A New Indigenous Korean Chestnut Cultivar with Reddish Burrs. HortScience horts, 49(12), 1588-1589. Retrieved Nov 6, 2023, from https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI.49.12.1588.
