The Decline League Table: The Steepest Falls
The EU-27 harvested 102.1 thousand tonnes of tobacco in 2024, down 47.9% from 196.3 thousand tonnes in 2015 — a compound decline of about 7.0% every year, the steepest sustained fall among the EU's field crops with meaningful volume. Raisin grapes fell even faster where the EU aggregate is reported: from 174.1 thousand tonnes in 2016 to 101.4 in 2020, about -12.6% a year (see the reporting note below).
Triticale — the wheat-rye hybrid, mostly animal feed — declined more gently but persistently: the EU harvest fell from 11 700.5 thousand tonnes in 2016 to 9 864.5 in 2024, a net -15.7% (-2.1% a year). Satsumas, the fourth entry, compounded at -8.3% a year over their reported EU series, from 183.6 thousand tonnes in 2018 to 119.2 in 2024.
Context keeps the league honest: over the same decade the EU potato harvest grew 6.7% and sugar beet 27.2%. These four declines are crop-specific trajectories, not a shrinking European harvest overall.
EU-27 decline league, harvested production, dataset apro_cpsh1. Raisin-grape CAGR covers the aggregate's reported years only.
| Crop | Start (1 000 t) | End (1 000 t) | Net change | CAGR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tobacco | 196.3 (2015) | 102.1 (2024) | -47.9% | -7.0%/yr |
| Raisin grapes (EU aggregate) | 174.1 (2016) | 101.4 (2020) | -41.7% | -12.6%/yr |
| Satsumas | 183.6 (2018) | 119.2 (2024) | -35.0% | -8.3%/yr |
| Triticale | 11 700.5 (2016) | 9 864.5 (2024) | -15.7% | -2.1%/yr |
Reporting Break or Real Decline: Reading the Series Honestly
Raisin grapes illustrate the most common trap in decline statistics: the EU aggregate series stops after 2020, but the crop did not stop existing. Greece — 97-98% of the EU crop in every reported year — still publishes national figures: 83.5 thousand tonnes in 2021, 80.4 in 2022, 74.0 in 2023 and a rebound to 111.1 in 2024.
The honest reading is therefore two-layered: the verified EU-aggregate decline is -12.6% a year through 2020, and Greece's own continuous series shows a -37.6% slide from 178.2 thousand tonnes in 2015 to that 2024 figure, with 2023 as the floor year. Both statements are true; quoting either alone would mislead.
Tobacco and triticale need no such caveat — their EU-27 series are continuous across the window, which is why their declines can be stated as full-decade net changes without qualification.
Two honest ways to state the raisin-grape decline, dataset apro_cpsh1.
| Series | EU aggregate | Greece national series |
|---|---|---|
| Reported years | 2016-2020 | 2015-2024 |
| Decline stated | -12.6%/yr (CAGR) | -37.6% net |
| Last value (1 000 t) | 101.4 (2020) | 111.1 (2024) |
| Floor year | — | 2023 (74.0) |
Who Still Grows Them: The Remaining Strongholds
Every fading crop concentrates as it shrinks. Greece grew 98.4% of the EU's raisin grapes in 2024 (111.1 of 113.0 thousand tonnes) — the crop is, statistically, Greek. Spain grew 86.6% of EU satsumas (103.2 thousand tonnes), down from 97.9% in 2015 as Greece and Italy took small shares.
Italy leads tobacco with 33.9 thousand tonnes (33.2% of the EU) — a larger share than its 26.2% in 2015, not because Italy grew more (it harvested 34.1% less) but because others exited faster: Greece fell 66.7%, Spain 34.3%, Poland 29.7%.
Triticale has the biggest stronghold of all: Poland grew 4 958.2 thousand tonnes in 2024, 50.3% of the EU crop, even though its own output slipped 5.4% over the decade — the Polish share rose because Germany's fell 41.9%. A declining crop can still have a rising champion.
The last strongholds of the declining crops, 2024, dataset apro_cpsh1.
| Crop | Stronghold | 2024 production (1 000 t) | Share of EU |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raisin grapes | Greece | 111.1 | 98.4% |
| Satsumas | Spain | 103.2 | 86.6% |
| Tobacco | Italy | 33.9 | 33.2% |
| Triticale | Poland | 4 958.2 | 50.3% |
Land Released: The Area Side of the Story
Production halved because land did. EU tobacco area fell 51.4% — from 86.4 thousand hectares in 2015 to 41.9 in 2024. Greece's tobacco fields shrank fastest (its national area collapsed with its output), and even Italy, the leader, harvested 25.3% less tobacco area.
Triticale lost 19.1% of its EU area (about 2 900 to 2 346 thousand hectares over the reported years), with Germany giving up 33.8% of its triticale land and Poland 24.3%. Greek raisin-grape area fell 29.0% (25.7 to 18.3 thousand hectares) and Spanish satsuma area 42.2% (8.3 to 4.8).
The pattern across all four: area falls faster than production in most years, meaning yield gains have partly masked the retreat from the field. For a reader tracking land use, the acreage lines — not the tonnage lines — are the true size of these exits.
Harvested area of the declining crops, dataset apro_cpsh1.
| Crop / geography | Area start (1 000 ha) | Area 2024 (1 000 ha) | Net change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tobacco, EU-27 | 86.4 (2015) | 41.9 | -51.4% |
| Triticale, EU-27 | 2 900.3 (2016) | 2 346.2 | -19.1% |
| Triticale, Germany | 401.6 (2015) | 265.7 | -33.8% |
| Raisin grapes, Greece | 25.7 (2015) | 18.3 | -29.0% |
| Satsumas, Spain | 8.3 (2015) | 4.8 | -42.2% |
Nostalgia Note: The Crops Grandmothers Remember
These declines are generational in feel and precise in data. Tobacco was a 196-thousand-tonne EU crop in 2015 with six member states above 20 thousand tonnes; in 2024 only Italy remains above 30. Raisin grapes have retreated into a single Greek speciality. Triticale — born as the twentieth century's answer to feed scarcity — is fading from German and French fields while Poland keeps farming it at scale.
For small farms and food businesses, the practical reading pairs with this site's companion piece on the fastest-growing crops: EU field acreage is moving away from tobacco, raisin grapes and northern triticale, and toward blueberries, avocados and hemp. The dataset cannot say where any specific hectare went — but it shows, year by year, which direction the land is flowing.
And one honest note on all four: decline is not disappearance. Every crop above still has a measurable, published 2024 harvest — the story is contraction to strongholds, not extinction.
Where the declines stand in 2024, dataset apro_cpsh1.
| Crop | 2015-2016 start (1 000 t) | 2024 (1 000 t) | What remains |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tobacco | 196.3 | 102.1 | Italy, Spain, Poland above 19 |
| Raisin grapes | 178.2 (Greece) | 111.1 | Effectively a Greek crop |
| Triticale | 11 700.5 (EU) | 9 864.5 | Poland grows half of it |
| Satsumas | 183.6 (2018, EU) | 119.2 | Spain grows 86.6% |
Frequently Asked Questions
Which EU crops are disappearing fastest?
Among crops with meaningful volume: tobacco, whose EU-27 production nearly halved over 2015-2024 (-47.9%, to 102.1 thousand tonnes), and raisin grapes, which fell about 12.6% a year on the EU aggregate through 2020. Triticale (-15.7% net) and satsumas (-8.3% a year over their reported series) complete the steepest declines.
Why is tobacco production falling in the EU?
The data shows the mechanism, not the motive: EU tobacco area halved (-51.4%, from 86.4 to 41.9 thousand hectares) and every major producer harvested less in 2024 than in 2015 — Greece by 66.7%, Spain by 34.3%, Poland by 29.7%, Italy by 34.1%. The Eurostat dataset records volumes and areas, not the policy or market reasons behind them.
Are satsumas still grown in Europe?
Yes. The EU-27 harvested 119.2 thousand tonnes of satsumas in 2024, of which Spain grew 103.2 thousand tonnes (86.6%). The crop has contracted from 183.6 thousand tonnes in 2018, and Spanish satsuma area fell 42.2% over 2015-2024, but production remains published and substantial.
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.
