8 Countries that Produce the Most Apples in the World

Those apples on your table have been probably harvested in one of these 8 countries that produce the most apples in the world and not in your backyard. Apple consumption is very high and these countries make sure you can make your apple pie whenever you want.

Besides lending its name to one of the biggest technology companies in the world, apples are known as one of the most popular fruits in the world and the apple tree was perhaps the earliest tree to be cultivated. They are usually eaten raw, but they also have a variety of other uses, especially in desserts and drinks. Although someone from Europe or the USA would jump to the conclusion that apples are the most consumed fruit in the world, which is far from the truth. Although the consumption is high, mango is by far the most consumed fruit ahead of bananas and apples.

Apples we eat today are not the same people have eaten in the past. We eat the improved version which needed thousands years of selection. Apple originated from Central Asia, with Asia being the region that produces the most apples today. In 2013 and 2014 Asia had 64.1% of all production in the world. Behind Asia is Europe with 19.7%, Americas with 12.1%, Africa with 3.2% and Oceania with 0.9%. In 2014, the world’s production of apples reached the number of 80 billion tonnes, and on our list of countries that produce the most apples in the world you will have the opportunity to see which countries took the major share of the production. This list brings some surprises, just like our list of countries that produce the most NHL players in the world.

To find out the largest apple producers today, we used the data collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization Of The United Nations. The latest statistics available are the ones from 2014. So let’s find out where the apples come from.

8. Chile

Production: 1,709,589 tonnes

Due to the steady growth of apple production since 2000, when they produced around 800 million tonnes, Chile has surpassed Argentina and Brazil, becoming the largest producer of apples in South America.

7. France

Production: 1,737,482 tonnes

Unlike Chile, France has lowered its production since 2002. In 2002, they produced 2,5 billion tonnes of apples and in 2013 the number reached just around 1,3 billion. The year 2014 marks their first major production increase.

6. India

Production: 1,915,000 tonnes

India was one of the largest apple producers in the past years, especially in 2011, when they produced almost 3 billion tonnes of apples. If they haven’t lowered their production capacities, they would be among the top 3 on this list of 8 countries that produce the most apples in the world.

5. Italy

Production: 2,216,963 tonnes

Italy is among the largest apple exporters on our list, claiming 11% of all worlds’ apple exports. This is mainly thanks to their steady production figures from 2002.

4. Poland

Production: 3,085,074 tonnes

Just like Italy, Poland also claims 11% of all apple exports in the world, but the majority of the export is aimed towards Russia, the country that holds firmly the place of greatest apple importer.

3. Turkey

Production: 3,128,450 tonnes

Turkey’s apple production was all time high in 2014, with more than 3 billion of tonnes produced. Unlike most of the countries on the list, apple production in Turkey is mainly aimed towards domestic consumption.

2. USA

Production: 4,081,608 tonnes

Although apple is one of the most consumed fruits in the USA, they still find themselves among the largest exporters in the world. The apple production in the USA was steady in the past couple of years, being around 4 billion of tonnes.

1. China

Production: 39,684,118 tonnes

China is by far the largest apple producer in the world, producing almost the half of the world’s apples. All the other countries,  among 8 countries that produce the most apples in the world combined produce just a half of China’s production capacities. Due to this fact, China claims the spot as the largest apple exporter in the world, holding 12% of all apple exports.