The Growth League Table: CAGR-Ranked Crops
Between 2015 and 2024 three crops outgrew everything else in the EU-27 with meaningful volume. Blueberries lead the league: the EU harvest rose from 66.9 thousand tonnes in 2016 — the first year with a full EU aggregate — to 190.3 thousand tonnes in 2024, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.9%. Hemp nearly doubled, from 97.1 to 193.1 thousand tonnes (9.0% a year), and avocados grew 67.7%, from 99.5 to 166.9 thousand tonnes (6.7% a year).
For comparison: over the same window the EU-27 potato harvest grew 0.7% per year and common wheat shrank 2.1% per year. These three boom crops are not the biggest harvests — together they are still smaller than the EU's onion crop — but no other crops with comparable volume grew faster.
The boom numbers are measured on the EU-27 aggregate of harvested production in dataset apro_cpsh1. Blueberry and avocado aggregates start in 2016, so their growth rates are computed over the nine reported years to 2024.
EU-27 growth leaders, dataset apro_cpsh1. CAGR = compound annual growth rate over the available window.
| Crop | Start (1 000 t) | 2024 (1 000 t) | Net change | CAGR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blueberries | 66.9 (2016) | 190.3 | +184.3% | +13.9%/yr |
| Hemp | 97.1 (2015) | 193.1 | +98.8% | +9.0%/yr |
| Avocados | 99.5 (2016) | 166.9 | +67.7% | +6.7%/yr |
Small Base, Big Percentages: How to Read Boom Numbers Honestly
A 13.9% annual growth rate sounds like it should reshape European agriculture. It has not — yet. Even after nearly tripling, the EU blueberry harvest of 190.3 thousand tonnes in 2024 is about 1.7% of the apple crop and 0.4% of the potato crop. Booms of this kind are visible in percentages long before they are visible in tonnage.
The same honesty applies to avocados: 166.9 thousand tonnes in 2024 is a rounding error next to the EU's 11.5 million tonnes of apples. What the numbers do show is direction and persistence: the blueberry harvest grew in every single year of the window except 2023, and the avocado harvest set a new EU record in 2024.
The practical reading: these are real, sustained expansion crops, still small enough that one good planting season moves the percentage — and small enough that the boom is nowhere near finished.
Boom crops in proportion, EU-27 2024. The booms are growth stories, not volume stories.
| Boom crop, 2024 | Volume (1 000 t) | For comparison (1 000 t) |
|---|---|---|
| Blueberries | 190.3 | Apples: 11 523.8 |
| Hemp | 193.1 | Sunflower seed: 8 362.1 |
| Avocados | 166.9 | Potatoes: 50 780.3 |
Who Drives the Boom: the Countries Behind Each Crop
Blueberries are a Polish-Spanish story. Poland grew 14.1 thousand tonnes in 2015 and 62.0 in 2024 (+339.7%) — overtaking Spain, which grew from 21.1 to 61.0 thousand tonnes (+189.4%). The two together grew about 65% of the EU crop in 2024. Portugal is the volume riser of the decade: 4.4 thousand tonnes in 2015, 22.9 in 2024 (+414.6%, 12.0% of the EU crop).
Avocados are Spain plus a newcomer. Spain still leads with 112.4 thousand tonnes, but its share fell from 92.3% in 2015 to 67.3% in 2024 — not because Spanish output shrank (it grew 29.7%), but because Portugal appeared: zero until 2018, then 13.4 thousand tonnes in 2019 and 40.5 in 2024, a quarter of the EU crop after just five harvests.
Hemp is a French crop. France grew 135.5 thousand tonnes in 2024 — 70.2% of the EU total — up from 61.8 thousand tonnes in 2015 (+119.2%). The Netherlands is the only other producer above 10 thousand tonnes (24.6, 12.7%).
The boom drivers, 2024 shares of the EU-27 crop, dataset apro_cpsh1.
| Crop | Country | Start (1 000 t) | 2024 (1 000 t) | EU share 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blueberries | Poland | 14.1 (2015) | 62.0 | 32.6% |
| Blueberries | Spain | 21.1 (2015) | 61.0 | 32.0% |
| Blueberries | Portugal | 4.4 (2015) | 22.9 | 12.0% |
| Avocados | Spain | 86.6 (2015) | 112.4 | 67.3% |
| Avocados | Portugal | 0 until 2018 | 40.5 | 24.3% |
| Hemp | France | 61.8 (2015) | 135.5 | 70.2% |
| Hemp | Netherlands | 14.6 (2015) | 24.6 | 12.7% |
Boom Candidates to Watch: Just Below the Leaderboard
The verified leaderboard has three entries, and the data points to a short watchlist underneath. Portugal's avocado curve is the strongest candidate for the next chapter: five consecutive record harvests, from 13.4 thousand tonnes in 2019 to 40.5 in 2024, on a crop that had no Portuguese presence at all before 2019.
Poland's blueberry expansion is the second: output grew in nine of ten years and the country now holds 32.6% of the EU crop, having overtaken the former leader Spain in 2023. Italian blueberries (10.4 thousand tonnes in 2024, 5.4%) round out a top three that did not exist a decade ago.
A note of statistical caution, itself a lesson: some niche crops in this dataset report only every second year or carry aggregate gaps (Greek cotton seed, for example). A claimed boom on a broken series is not a boom — the three crops above were chosen because their EU series are continuous and their growth verifiable year by year.
Candidates below the verified growth league, 2024 values.
| Watchlist crop | Signal in the data | 2024 (1 000 t) |
|---|---|---|
| Avocados, Portugal | Five straight record harvests since 2019 | 40.5 |
| Blueberries, Poland | Leader since 2023; +339.7% over the decade | 62.0 |
| Blueberries, Italy | New top-three member | 10.4 |
For Curious Investors and Small Farms: What Sustains a Boom
The data offers three grounded observations. First, every verified boom is concentrated: two countries grow two thirds of EU blueberries, one grows 70% of EU hemp, two grow 92% of EU avocados. A boom in this dataset is usually a boom in one or two member states, not across the EU.
Second, boom crops carry boom volatility. The blueberry harvest swings 31.3% around its average (CV, 2015-2024) — the highest on the site's volatility watchlist — and hemp swings 20.0%. Fast growth and steady supply are different promises; the numbers deliver the first and qualify the second.
Third, the growth is persistent rather than spiky: all three crops have higher production in 2024 than in any year before 2021. That persistence — not any single year's percentage — is what separates these booms from one-season price spikes.
Growth versus stability, EU-27, dataset apro_cpsh1, 2015-2024.
| Crop | CAGR | Volatility (CV) | 2024 versus pre-2021 record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blueberries | +13.9%/yr | 31.3% | Above every pre-2021 level |
| Hemp | +9.0%/yr | 20.0% | Above every pre-2021 level |
| Avocados | +6.7%/yr | 18.1% | New record in 2024 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Which EU crop is growing fastest?
Blueberries — EU-27 output compounded at 13.9% a year, rising from 66.9 thousand tonnes in 2016 to 190.3 thousand tonnes in 2024. Hemp (9.0% a year) and avocados (6.7% a year) rank second and third among crops with meaningful EU volume.
How much did EU avocado production increase?
By 67.7% between 2016 and 2024 — from 99.5 to 166.9 thousand tonnes, an all-time EU record. Spain still grows the most (112.4 thousand tonnes, 67.3%), but Portugal has emerged from zero before 2019 to 40.5 thousand tonnes (24.3%).
Is hemp farming expanding in the EU?
Yes. EU-27 hemp production nearly doubled over 2015-2024, from 97.1 to 193.1 thousand tonnes. France grows 70.2% of it (135.5 thousand tonnes in 2024) and the Netherlands a further 12.7%.
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.
