Two Markets, One Crop: Fresh Heads and Processing Roots
Eurostat's crop statistics separate chicory into two harvested-production series. The first, coded V2700, is chicory grown as a fresh vegetable and is reported here in 1 000 t: 1 121.36 in 2015 falling to 1 014.45 in 2024 at EU-27 level. The second, V2720, is chicory for processing — a separate line, published apart from the fresh one, that reached 770.14 thousand tonnes in 2022.
Two measures recur in this article. CAGR (compound annual growth rate) is the constant yearly rate that would carry a series' first value to its last. CV (coefficient of variation) expresses the standard deviation as a percentage of the mean, so a higher CV means a bumpier series. The fresh line runs sideways and then down: 1 121.36 (2015), 1 121.76 (2016) and 1 117.49 (2017), a peak of 1 339.37 in 2021, then 1 014.45 in 2024 after its low of 974.4 in 2023. Across the eight years the series reports, that is -9.5% net, a CAGR of -1.42% per year and a CV of 10.7%.
The processing series, for which an EU-27 aggregate is reported, moves the other way: 551.98 (2016), 559.58 (2017), 686.65 (2020), 739.36 (2021) and a peak of 770.14 thousand tonnes in 2022 — +39.5% between the first and last reported point, or 8.68% per year, with a CV of 13.7%. The dataset reports no EU aggregate for processing chicory in 2018, 2019, 2023 or 2024. Same crop name, opposite directions: that is the central fact of the chicory file.
Chicory, EU-27, 2015-2024 (1 000 t), dataset apro_cpsh1. Dash = no value in that series. † Processing 2015 and 2024 are member-state totals; 2016-2022 is the reported EU-27 aggregate.
| Year | Fresh chicory (1 000 t) | Chicory for processing (1 000 t) |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1 121.4 | 557.2† |
| 2016 | 1 121.8 | 552.0 |
| 2017 | 1 117.5 | 559.6 |
| 2018 | — | — |
| 2019 | — | — |
| 2020 | 1 307.8 | 686.6 |
| 2021 | 1 339.4 | 739.4 |
| 2022 | 1 252.5 | 770.1 |
| 2023 | 974.4 | — |
| 2024 | 1 014.5 | 530.2† |
The Processing Boom in the Reported EU Series
Belgium is the processing series. Its output rose from 314.57 thousand tonnes in 2015 to 433.63 in 2024 — +37.8%, a CAGR of 3.63% per year with a CV of 17.6% — and its share of the EU total rose from 56.5% to 81.8%.
France is the second supplier: 42.86 to 52.29 thousand tonnes (+22.0%, 2.23% per year, CV 37.9%), taking its share from 7.7% to 9.9%. Poland appears in the 2024 ranking with 32.8 thousand tonnes (6.2%), and Italy reports 11.44 thousand tonnes (2.2%) after seven years at zero — 6.84 in 2022, 10.67 in 2023 and 11.44 in 2024, which is a 29.33% per year rise across those three positive years.
One series ends early: the Netherlands, at 170.4 thousand tonnes and 30.6% of the EU total in 2015, reports no value for 2024, and its last reported year is 2022 at 144.79 thousand tonnes (-15.0% on 2015). Germany reports zero processing chicory in every year of the window. In 2024 the top two countries held 91.7% of the processing crop, and the ranking lists only four countries with a 2024 value.
Chicory for processing (V2720): production and share of the EU-27 total, 2015 vs 2024. The Netherlands reports no 2024 value (its series ends in 2022 at 144.8 thousand tonnes). Dataset apro_cpsh1.
| Country | 2015 (1 000 t) | Share 2015 | 2024 (1 000 t) | Share 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 314.6 | 56.5% | 433.6 | 81.8% |
| France | 42.9 | 7.7% | 52.3 | 9.9% |
| Netherlands | 170.4 | 30.6% | — | — |
| Italy | 0.0 | 0.0% | 11.4 | 2.2% |
| Germany | 0.0 | 0.0% | 0.0 | 0.0% |
Where It Grows: Belgium's Lead and the Northern Belt
In 2024 Belgium led fresh chicory with 464.03 thousand tonnes — 45.7% of the EU-27 total — ahead of France's 270.85 (26.7%), Italy's 169.12 (16.7%), the Netherlands' 48.87 (4.8%), Poland's 33.6 (3.3%) and Greece's 14.49 (1.4%). The top two together account for 72.4%.
Belgium is also the only large fresh producer that grew steadily: +30.9% from 354.47 thousand tonnes in 2015, a CAGR of 3.04% per year and a CV of 15.5%, with its share rising from 31.6% to 45.7%. France added 21.5% (222.87 to 270.85), but with a CV of 30.1%.
The southern and western series fell. Italy dropped from 250.1 to 169.12 thousand tonnes (-32.4%, -4.25% per year, CV 20.3%) and the Netherlands from 222.06 to 48.87 (-78.0%, -15.48% per year, CV 38.0%). Germany, at 5.48 to 4.97 thousand tonnes, is a small fresh-only line. Read as a map, the 2024 fresh crop is a northern-belt crop — Belgium, France and the Netherlands — plus Italy in the south; the processing crop is narrower still, with 81.8% of it in Belgium.
Fresh chicory (V2700): production and share of the EU-27 total, 2015 vs 2024. Dash = 2015 value not included in this extract, dataset apro_cpsh1.
| Country | 2015 (1 000 t) | 2024 (1 000 t) | Share 2024 | Net change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 354.5 | 464.0 | 45.7% | +30.9% |
| France | 222.9 | 270.9 | 26.7% | +21.5% |
| Italy | 250.1 | 169.1 | 16.7% | -32.4% |
| Netherlands | 222.1 | 48.9 | 4.8% | -78.0% |
| Poland | — | 33.6 | 3.3% | — |
| Greece | — | 14.5 | 1.4% | — |
| Germany | 5.5 | 5.0 | 0.5% | -9.3% |
The Split Decision: Fresh Chicory Shrinking, Roots Expanding
Put the two markets side by side and the decision looks different depending on which one a grower would supply. Fresh chicory: 1 121.36 thousand tonnes in 2015, 1 014.45 in 2024, -9.5% net, -1.42% per year, CV 10.7%. Processing chicory: 551.98 thousand tonnes in 2016 rising to 770.14 in 2022, +39.5%, 8.68% per year, CV 13.7% — with no EU aggregate reported after 2022.
Concentration separates them too. Fresh chicory's top two countries hold 72.4% of output; processing chicory's top two hold 91.7%, and only four countries report any 2024 volume at all. The processing market at its peak (770.14 thousand tonnes) is smaller than the fresh market at its weakest (974.4 thousand tonnes in 2023) — but it is the only one of the two with a rising reported series.
The caveats belong in the same paragraph as the boom. The EU figures for processing chicory in 2015 and 2024 are member-state totals: 557.24 thousand tonnes in 2015 and 530.16 in 2024, about 4.9% lower and below even the 2016 point of the aggregate series. The strong 8.68% per year figure describes the reported 2016-2022 stretch, not the last two years, and the Netherlands, which supplied 30.6% of the 2015 total, has no value in the 2024 picture.
Fresh and processing chicory at EU level, dataset apro_cpsh1. Processing has no EU aggregate for 2018, 2019, 2023 or 2024; the member-state totals row compares the two values in this extract (* computed from those two totals).
| Market | First year (1 000 t) | Last reported (1 000 t) | Net change | CAGR | Top-2 share 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh chicory (V2700) | 1 121.4 (2015) | 1 014.5 (2024) | -9.5% | -1.42%/yr | 72.4% |
| Chicory for processing (V2720) | 552.0 (2016) | 770.1 (2022) | +39.5% | +8.68%/yr | 91.7% |
| Processing, member-state totals | 557.2 (2015) | 530.2 (2024) | -4.9%* | — | — |
Entry Notes for Small Farms: Rotation Fit and Buyer Channels
The 2024 areas behind the chicory numbers are modest. Fresh chicory: Belgium 10.56 thousand hectares, Italy 10.44, France 9.88, the Netherlands 2.87 and Germany 0.73. Processing chicory: Belgium 8.67 thousand hectares, France 1.17 and Italy 0.5. Divided into production, those areas imply 43.9 t/ha for Belgian fresh chicory, 50.0 t/ha for Belgian processing chicory and 44.7 t/ha for French processing chicory, against 27.4 t/ha for French fresh chicory and 16.2 t/ha for Italian fresh chicory.
On rotation the data supports only a scale statement: chicory occupies small blocks — the largest national area in the window's final year is 10.56 thousand hectares (Belgium) in the fresh series and 8.67 thousand hectares (Belgium) in the processing series. The dataset records production and area only, not cropping practice, so rotation fit cannot be read off it.
Buyer channels are outside the dataset as well; what it records is where the volume already sits. Fresh chicory is spread across six countries with 2024 data and a top-two share of 72.4%. Processing chicory is a two-country market in 2024 (91.7% in the top two, 81.8% in Belgium alone) and carries no EU aggregate after 2022. The volatility price is visible on both sides: -78.0% for the Dutch fresh series over 2015-2024 with a CV of 38.0%, a CV of 37.9% for the French processing series, and 157.4% for Italy's processing series, which only became non-zero in 2022.
Area, production and their ratio in 2024 (implied yield = production ÷ area), dataset apro_cpsh1.
| Country and market | Area 2024 (1 000 ha) | Production 2024 (1 000 t) | Implied yield (t/ha) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium, processing | 8.67 | 433.6 | 50.0 |
| Belgium, fresh | 10.56 | 464.0 | 43.9 |
| France, processing | 1.17 | 52.3 | 44.7 |
| France, fresh | 9.88 | 270.9 | 27.4 |
| Italy, fresh | 10.44 | 169.1 | 16.2 |
| Netherlands, fresh | 2.87 | 48.9 | 17.0 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Which country grows the most chicory in the EU?
Belgium. In 2024 it grew 464.03 thousand tonnes of fresh chicory, 45.7% of the EU-27 total, and 433.63 thousand tonnes of chicory for processing, 81.8% of that series. In fresh chicory Belgium and France together hold 72.4%; in processing chicory they hold 91.7%.
Is chicory production growing in Europe?
It depends which series you read. Fresh chicory (V2700) fell from 1 121.36 thousand tonnes in 2015 to 1 014.45 in 2024 (-9.5% net, -1.42% per year). Chicory for processing (V2720) rose from 551.98 thousand tonnes in 2016 to a reported peak of 770.14 in 2022 (+39.5%, 8.68% per year), with no EU aggregate reported for 2018, 2019, 2023 or 2024; the member-state total for 2024 is 530.16 thousand tonnes.
What is processing chicory used for?
The dataset reports it as a separate harvested-production series — chicory for processing (V2720), in 1 000 t — and does not record end uses, so the data cannot answer that directly. What it does show is that the series is highly concentrated: Belgium 81.8% of the 2024 total, the top two countries 91.7%, and only four countries reporting a 2024 value.
Source data extracted from Eurostat dataset apro_cpsh1.
This article was generated using AI. The content is based on Eurostat data and is provided as a starting point — please verify all data with the original source.
