1.2 Importance of fruit and vegetables in world agriculture
Fruit and vegetables represent an important part of world agriculture production; some figures are seen in Table 1.1.
TABLE 1.1 Fruit and Vegetable World Production, 1991
| Crop (Fruit) | Production, 1000 T | |
| Total World | Dev.ping all | |
| Appies | 39404 | 14847 |
| Apricots | 2224 | 1147 |
| Avocados | 2036 | 1757 |
| Bananas | 47660 | 46753 |
| Citrus fruits NES | 1622 | 1231 |
| Cantaloupes and other melons | 12182 | 8733 |
| Dates | 3192 | 3146 |
| Grapes | 57188 | 14257 |
| Grapefruit and pomelo | 4655 | 2073 |
| Lemons and limes | 6786 | 4457 |
| Mangoes | 16127 | 16075 |
| Oranges | 55308 | 40325 |
| Peaches and nectarines | 8682 | 2684 |
| Pears | 9359 | 4431 |
| Papayas | 4265 | 4205 |
| Plantains | 26847 | 26847 |
| Plums | 5651 | 1806 |
| Pineapples | 10076 | 9183 |
| Raisins | 1041 | 470 |
| Tangerines, mandarines, clementines | 8951 | 4379 |
| Watermelons | 28943 | 19038 |
| Currants | 536009 | |
| Raspberries | 369087 | |
| Strawberries | 2469117 | 342009 |
| Beans, green | 3213 | 1702 |
| Cabbages | 36649 | 15569 |
| Cauliflower | 5258 | 2269 |
| Carrots | 13511 | 4545 |
| Chilies + peppers, green | 9145 | 6440 |
| Cucumbers and gherkins | 13619 | 7931 |
| Eggplants | 5797 | 4608 |
| Garlic | 3102 | 2446 |
| Onions, dry | 27977 | 17128 |
| Peas, green | 4856 | 1038 |
| Pumpkins, squash, gourds | 7933 | 6245 |
(Dev.ping = Developing countries) Source: FAO Yearbook, 1991, FAO Production Yearbook, 1992