Top 10 Countries for Broccoli Production in 2025
Broccoli statistics are commonly reported together with cauliflower under a single FAOSTAT item (“Cauliflowers and broccoli”). To keep the ranking comparable across countries, this page uses the latest complete global dataset (2023) as a practical proxy for a 2025 production snapshot.
Global production overview (why a “2025 snapshot” still uses 2023)
Global output for “cauliflowers and broccoli” is remarkably stable in recent years: world production was about 26.47 million tonnes in 2023. Because many official databases publish agriculture totals with a lag, the most defensible way to describe the 2025 landscape is to anchor the ranking to the most recent full year and interpret it as a near-current snapshot.
The structural story is clear: China and India are the two super-producers and together represent roughly 72.8% of global volume. After the top two, production drops sharply—an important clue that market balance and trade flows depend heavily on a small set of suppliers.
Key takeaways
- China (#1) and India (#2) each produce ~9.5–9.7M tonnes; together they account for ~72.8% of world output.
- The “second tier” (United States, Mexico, Spain) is much smaller: each is below 1.1M tonnes, yet crucial for trade and seasonal supply.
- In the 2023 dataset, Türkiye and Bangladesh appear in the global top 10—replacing countries often mentioned in informal lists.
- Top 10 producers represent ~88.4% of global production, meaning concentration is high and climate shocks can matter globally.
#1 China
- Production (2023, tonnes)9,712,996
- Share of world output36.7%
- Why it dominatesScale + wide agro-climates
China’s leadership is driven by scale, diversified growing zones and the ability to supply both domestic and export channels. In a concentrated global market, changes in Chinese acreage, yields or logistics can move international prices.
#2 India
- Production (2023, tonnes)9,548,000
- Share of world output36.1%
- Demand driverLarge domestic market
India’s volume is comparable to China’s, supported by a vast internal market. For global trade, India matters less than China, but for total world supply it is equally decisive.
#3 United States
- Production (2023, tonnes)1,056,734
- Share of world output4.0%
- Production geographyCalifornia-heavy
The U.S. remains the largest producer outside Asia, built around a highly organized fresh supply chain. Water constraints and labor availability are key sensitivities for medium-term output stability.
#4 Mexico
- Production (2023, tonnes)768,354
- Share of world output2.9%
- Competitive edgeProximity to North America
Mexico is structurally important for cross-border supply, especially seasonal balancing. Its position in global exports is outsized relative to its production share.
#5 Spain
- Production (2023, tonnes)637,080
- Share of world output2.4%
- Why it mattersExport logistics into the EU
Spain’s scale is smaller than North America’s top producers, but its role in European supply (and trade) makes it one of the most influential broccoli exporters.
#6 Italy
- Production (2023, tonnes)367,566
- Share of world output1.4%
- Market profileFresh + regional trade
Italy is a consistent Mediterranean supplier. Its scale is notably smaller than some older “projection-based” rankings suggested, which is why updating to FAO/FAOSTAT changes the ordering.
#7 Türkiye
- Production (2023, tonnes)355,200
- Share of world output1.3%
- Strategic roleRegional supplier (Europe/MENA)
Türkiye’s presence in the top 10 highlights how the broader “cauliflower & broccoli” category is not only an EU/NA story— regional producers can be significant at global scale.
#8 Bangladesh
- Production (2023, tonnes)346,929
- Share of world output1.3%
- Main driverFood demand + acreage
Bangladesh is a good example of why global rankings shift when you use official harmonized datasets: it often disappears from casual lists, yet it is a top-10 producer in FAO reporting.
#9 Pakistan
- Production (2023, tonnes)343,758
- Share of world output1.3%
- ConstraintCold-chain & logistics
Pakistan’s volumes place it in the global top 10, but export influence is typically limited by logistics and cold-chain capacity.
#10 France
- Production (2023, tonnes)268,700
- Share of world output1.0%
- Market contextEU supply balancing
France completes the top 10 in the FAO dataset, reinforcing Europe’s role as an important—but not dominant—production region.
Table 1. Top 10 producers (FAO/FAOSTAT baseline, used as 2025 snapshot)
Units: tonnes. Shares are calculated versus world total (26,472,040 tonnes). Production is reported under FAOSTAT item “Cauliflowers and broccoli”.
| Rank | Country | Production (tonnes) |
Share of world |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 9,712,996 | 36.7% |
| 2 | India | 9,548,000 | 36.1% |
| 3 | United States | 1,056,734 | 4.0% |
| 4 | Mexico | 768,354 | 2.9% |
| 5 | Spain | 637,080 | 2.4% |
| 6 | Italy | 367,566 | 1.4% |
| 7 | Türkiye | 355,200 | 1.3% |
| 8 | Bangladesh | 346,929 | 1.3% |
| 9 | Pakistan | 343,758 | 1.3% |
| 10 | France | 268,700 | 1.0% |
Figure 1. Production by country (Top 10, tonnes)
The bar chart highlights the scale break: China and India dwarf all other producers, while the rest form a long tail. If Chart.js is unavailable, the page shows a readable fallback (no empty chart blocks).
Insights: what the top 10 ranking tells us
The most important analytical point is not “who is #1”—it is the size gap between the top two and everyone else. When two countries control nearly three-quarters of global volume, the market becomes structurally sensitive to (1) weather shocks, (2) plant disease pressure, (3) input costs, and (4) domestic policy shifts in those two systems.
A second takeaway is that the countries sitting in positions #3–#5 (United States, Mexico, Spain) matter disproportionally for international trade and seasonal supply. Even with a much smaller production share, they have strong export channels and cold-chain infrastructure, which is often the binding constraint for fresh broccoli.
Why Asia dominates the global total
- Scale and labor intensity: Brassica vegetables are input-heavy (nursery plants, crop protection, multiple harvest passes). Large labor pools and scale reduce unit costs.
- Multi-climate production windows: Big countries can rotate production across regions to smooth seasonality and reduce price volatility.
- Domestic absorption: High internal demand stabilizes farmgate prices and supports continuous acreage even when export conditions fluctuate.
Trade reality: exports matter more than production share
Broccoli is traded both fresh and frozen, and official trade codes often bundle broccoli and cauliflower. This makes “who produces” and “who exports” related but not identical questions. In practice, cross-border supply chains are dominated by a smaller set of logistics-capable exporters—especially in Europe and North America.
Interpretation tip: if your goal is to understand prices and availability in importing markets, focus on exporter hubs (Spain, Mexico, USA), not only on absolute production leaders.
What drives production — and what can break it
Production drivers
- Water reliability: broccoli quality and uniformity depend on consistent moisture; irrigation stability is a competitive advantage.
- Cold chain: rapid cooling after harvest reduces losses; exporters typically win because they invest in it at scale.
- Seed & variety improvements: heat tolerance, disease resistance, and uniform head formation increase pack-out rates.
- Mechanization where possible: even partial mechanization reduces the risk from labor shortages.
Main constraints (2025–2030 watchlist)
- Climate stress: heat spikes during head formation can reduce quality; irregular rainfall increases disease pressure.
- Input prices: fertilizers, energy, and transport costs directly affect frozen and fresh competitiveness.
- Policy & standards: phytosanitary rules, residue limits, and packaging requirements shape exporter competitiveness.
- Concentration risk: when global volume is concentrated, simultaneous shocks (e.g., in two key producers) can amplify price swings.
Bottom line: the “top 10” list is stable in the short run, but the export influence and the seasonal supply role can shift faster than production volumes. That is why an analytical ranking should always separate the production story from the trade story.
What this means for readers
If you are tracking food inflation, retail availability, or supply-chain risk, this ranking suggests two practical conclusions. First, global supply is anchored by China and India, so the long-run volume trend depends on those systems. Second, the countries that frequently “set the market tone” in import regions are the logistics-strong exporters (Spain, Mexico, USA).
For businesses, the implication is to treat broccoli as a concentrated commodity: diversify suppliers across regions and seasons, watch water risk in major growing areas, and monitor trade policy changes that can reroute flows quickly.
Methodology
Indicator. Production volume (tonnes) for FAOSTAT item “Cauliflowers and broccoli”, which combines both crops under a single reporting category.
Year of data. The ranking uses 2023 as the latest complete global year and presents it as a practical 2025 snapshot (official agriculture totals are typically published with a lag).
How we rank. Countries are sorted by production volume. “Share of world” is computed as country production divided by world total for the same item and year.
Data processing. Values are shown in tonnes; shares are rounded to one decimal place. For readability, the chart expresses values in million tonnes.
Limitations. Because broccoli and cauliflower are bundled, the ranking reflects the combined category; country-level “broccoli-only” splits are not consistently available across all official sources and years. Trade data is also commonly bundled, so production and export rankings can differ.
FAQ
Why does the ranking say “broccoli” if the dataset includes cauliflower too?
Many official agricultural datasets report broccoli together with cauliflower under a single product item and even the same trade code. Using the harmonized category is the most reliable way to compare countries consistently.
Is this “fresh broccoli” only, or does it include processed/frozen?
The production item reflects agricultural output (harvested production) and is not a “fresh vs frozen” classification. Frozen and processed volumes are typically captured in industrial and trade datasets, not in crop production totals.
Why use 2023 as a proxy for 2025?
Official global agriculture totals are often finalized and harmonized with a delay. For a 2025 article, anchoring to the latest complete year avoids unverifiable projections and keeps the ranking comparable.
What should importers watch if they care about price and availability?
Beyond production leaders, watch export hubs and logistics capacity. Countries with strong cold-chain and trade relationships can influence seasonal supply more than their production share suggests.
Can the top 10 change quickly?
Large shifts usually require multi-year changes in acreage, yields, or policy. However, exporter influence can shift faster due to trade rules, logistics disruptions, or weather events.
Sources (official / primary)
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FAO/Codex project document on fresh broccoli (PDF)
Contains FAOSTAT-based tables for world production (2019–2023) and the main producing countries in 2023 (Table 2), which this ranking uses as the baseline snapshot.
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FAOSTAT — Crops and livestock products (QCL)
Primary global database for harmonized crop production statistics; the “Cauliflowers and broccoli” item is the standard comparable series used for cross-country rankings.
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UNData (FAOSTAT mirror) — “Cauliflowers and broccoli”
A UN-hosted interface to FAOSTAT series that can be used for cross-checking country totals, definitions, and basic metadata (production, area harvested, yield).
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California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) — broccoli production (PDF)
Provides U.S. production context and the long-run dominance of California in U.S. broccoli output (useful for explaining production geography and constraints like water).
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ProducePay — Mexico & U.S. broccoli overview (industry brief)
Offers a data-backed snapshot of Mexico’s producing regions (e.g., Guanajuato’s role) and the trade relationship with the U.S., complementing official totals with market structure detail.
Note: where a country-specific “broccoli-only” split is not available in harmonized official datasets, this page keeps the combined category to preserve comparability.
Download dataset & charts (ZIP)
One archive with the Top 10 table (CSV/XLSX) and exported chart images (PNG) used on this page.
