Five Crowns, One Kitchen: Durum, Rice, Lucerne, Tomatoes, Wine Grapes
Most countries win EU crop crowns in one or two specialties. In 2024 Italy held five at once, and every one of them is a kitchen staple: durum wheat for pasta, rice for risotto, lucerne for the dairy herd, tomatoes for passata and wine grapes for wine. No other EU member leads so many headline categories in the same year.
The shares run from 32.3% to 65.8% of the EU-27 crop. Lucerne is the most lopsided — Italy grows 25 142.7 thousand tonnes of the EU-27's 38 237.8, roughly the next three members combined. Rice is next at 54.9%, then durum wheat at 46.2%, total tomatoes at 35.6% and wine grapes at 32.3%.
The common thread is processing capacity inside Italy's borders: pasta mills, rice hullers, canneries and wineries cluster where the crop grows, so the farm map and the factory map match. Spain is the number-two country in four of the five crowns — the Iberian farms are Italy's most consistent benchmark.
Italy's five EU crowns, 2024, dataset apro_cpsh1. Italy was the EU-27 top producer of each crop.
| Crown crop | Italy 2024 (1 000 t) | Share of EU-27 | EU-27 total (1 000 t) | Number two |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durum wheat | 3 634.0 | 46.2% | 7 863.7 | France 1 230.2 (15.6%) |
| Rice | 1 448.8 | 54.9% | 2 637.5 | Spain 605.8 (23.0%) |
| Lucerne | 25 142.7 | 65.8% | 38 237.8 | Spain 4 777.8 (12.5%) |
| Tomatoes, total | 6 022.8 | 35.6% | 16 902.2 | Spain 4 574.3 (27.1%) |
| Wine grapes | 6 610.2 | 32.3% | 20 474.5 | Spain 5 021.9 (24.5%) |
Pasta's Wheat: The Durum South
Italy produced 3 634.0 thousand tonnes of durum wheat in 2024 — 46.2% of the EU-27 crop of 7 863.7 thousand tonnes. France is a distant second with 1 230.2 (15.6%), Greece third with 935.7 (11.9%) and Spain fourth with 730.8 (9.3%). Italy led the EU in durum every year from 2015 to 2024.
The crown is secure, but the share is eroding. Italian durum output fell from 4 509.8 thousand tonnes in 2015 to 4 033.9 in 2020 and 3 634.0 in 2024, and the share slid from 52.7% to 46.2% over the decade. France fell alongside it, from 1 784.4 to 1 230.2 — this is a shrinking EU crop with a stable pecking order, not a takeover.
For pasta makers the arithmetic is simple: roughly half of the durum they can buy inside the EU is grown in Italy, and almost all of the rest comes from three neighbours. The southern regions — Sicily, Sardinia and Basilicata — carry the acreage behind the number, but no Italian year of the decade came close to losing the lead.
Durum wheat production, selected years, dataset apro_cpsh1. Italy led every year 2015-2024; its EU share fell from 52.7% to 46.2%.
| Year | Italy (1 000 t) | France (1 000 t) |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 4 509.8 | 1 784.4 |
| 2020 | 4 033.9 | 1 310.4 |
| 2024 | 3 634.0 | 1 230.2 |
The Rice Paddies: The Po Valley Monopoly
Italy grew 1 448.8 thousand tonnes of rice in 2024 — 54.9% of the EU-27 crop of 2 637.5 thousand tonnes, ahead of Spain's 605.8 (23.0%) and Greece's 250.1 (9.5%). Italy has been the EU's number-one rice grower in every year of the decade.
The Italian series is remarkably flat: 1 498.9 thousand tonnes in 2015, 1 507.5 in 2020, 1 448.8 in 2024. The share moved more than the volume — from 50.2% in 2015 to a peak of 61.7% in 2023 and back to 54.9% in 2024, as Spain's output fell from 837.3 to 605.8 thousand tonnes over the same window.
This is the Po Valley's crop: the paddies of Piedmont, Lombardy and Veneto serve a domestic risotto and arborio economy that is the EU's centre of gravity. Spain is the only other member with meaningful volume, and its decade-long decline has widened, not narrowed, Italy's lead.
Rice production, selected years, dataset apro_cpsh1. Italy's EU share ran 50.2% (2015) to a 61.7% peak (2023) and 54.9% (2024).
| Year | Italy (1 000 t) | Spain (1 000 t) |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1 498.9 | 837.3 |
| 2020 | 1 507.5 | 739.2 |
| 2024 | 1 448.8 | 605.8 |
Passata Country: The Processing-Tomato Engine
Italy grew 6 022.8 thousand tonnes of tomatoes in 2024 — 35.6% of the EU-27 crop of 16 902.2, ahead of Spain's 4 574.3 (27.1%). The lead is much sharper in the processing category: for industrial tomatoes (code V3120) Italy grew 4 833.8 thousand tonnes, 47.4% of the EU-27's 10 188.1, against Spain's 2 923.3 (28.7%) and Portugal's 1 640.8 (16.1%).
Processing is where the crown matters. Italian processing-tomato output fell from 5 835.7 thousand tonnes in 2015 to 5 668.2 in 2020 and 4 833.8 in 2024, and the share slipped from 53.4% to 47.4% — but Italy led every year of the decade, and two thirds of the EU-27 processing crop still comes from Italy plus Spain.
Total tomato production tells the softer story: 6 410.3 thousand tonnes in 2015, 6 247.9 in 2020, 6 022.8 in 2024, with the share easing from 36.4% to 35.6%. The canneries of Emilia-Romagna and Campania still run on Italian fruit, but the fresh-market side is where Spain presses hardest.
Processing tomatoes (V3120), 2024, dataset apro_cpsh1. Italy led every year 2015-2024, from 53.4% to 47.4% of the EU crop.
| Country | Processing tomatoes 2024 (1 000 t) | Share of EU-27 |
|---|---|---|
| Italy | 4 833.8 | 47.4% |
| Spain | 2 923.3 | 28.7% |
| Portugal | 1 640.8 | 16.1% |
| EU-27 total | 10 188.1 | 100.0% |
Crown Stability: Which Leads Are Decades Old
Five crowns, one wobble. Italy was number one in durum wheat, rice, total tomatoes and processing tomatoes in every year from 2015 to 2024, and in wine grapes in every year except 2023, when it briefly fell to second behind Spain or France. The 2024 rebound — 6 610.2 thousand tonnes against France's 4 699.9 and Spain's 5 021.9 — put the crown back on.
Lucerne is the honest caveat: the fixture has no 2015 figure for Italy, so the recorded crown begins in 2016 — but Italy was number one in every reported year since, and its share actually rose from roughly 58.7% to 65.8%. That rise is defensive: Italian volume fell from 32 138.5 thousand tonnes in 2020 to 25 142.7 in 2024, while Spain fell faster, from 6 351.1 in 2015 to 4 777.8 in 2024.
The broader census confirms the breadth: in 2024 Italy recorded 94 top-three placements and 34 outright crowns, behind only Spain (104 and 49) and ahead of France (81/31) and Poland (70/29). The count covers 176 crop codes with an EU-27 total above zero and at least three reporting members, and the code list mixes headline crops with intermediate aggregates — so placements count codes, not distinct foods. The verdict: Italy's leads are stable, but the durum and tomato shares are slowly shrinking, and one crown has already flickered.
Rank histories and EU-27 shares, 2015-2024, dataset apro_cpsh1.
| Crop | Italy rank 2015-2024 | Share 2015 | Share 2024 | Crown lost in the decade? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durum wheat | #1 every year | 52.7% | 46.2% | No |
| Rice | #1 every year | 50.2% | 54.9% | No |
| Lucerne | #1 every reported year (2016-2024) | — | 65.8% | No (no 2015 figure) |
| Tomatoes, total | #1 every year | 36.4% | 35.6% | No |
| Processing tomatoes | #1 every year | 53.4% | 47.4% | No |
| Wine grapes | #1 except 2023 | — | 32.3% | Yes — briefly #2 in 2023 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Which country grows the most durum wheat in the EU?
Italy — 3 634.0 thousand tonnes in 2024, or 46.2% of the EU-27 crop of 7 863.7 thousand tonnes. France is second with 1 230.2 (15.6%), Greece third with 935.7 (11.9%) and Spain fourth with 730.8 (9.3%). Italy led every year from 2015 to 2024.
Does Italy lead EU rice production?
Yes. Italy grew 1 448.8 thousand tonnes of rice in 2024 — 54.9% of the EU-27 crop of 2 637.5 — ahead of Spain (605.8, 23.0%) and Greece (250.1, 9.5%). Italy has been the EU's top rice grower in every year of the 2015-2024 decade.
Which crops does Italy lead the EU in?
In 2024 Italy topped the EU-27 in five staple crops: lucerne (65.8% of the EU crop), rice (54.9%), durum wheat (46.2%), total tomatoes (35.6%) and wine grapes (32.3%). It also leads the processing-tomato category outright with 47.4% of the EU-27 industrial crop.
Are Italy's crop crowns safe?
They are stable but not unchallenged. Italy held four of the five crowns every year of the decade and regained the wine-grape crown after a brief second place in 2023, but shares are eroding: durum wheat fell from 52.7% to 46.2% and total tomatoes from 36.4% to 35.6% over 2015-2024.
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.
