Fruit Orchards Market Size - Global

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Fruit Orchards Market Size - Global

Based on data from FAO, there are an estimated 2.2 million fruit tree orchards in the world, with a collective 37 billion fruit trees. This is based on a total 53 million hectares of fruit tree production globally, with an average orchard size of 24 hectares. You'll find all the details of my methodology and calculations below.

calculations


There is no readily available data on the number of fruit orchards or fruit trees from public, recent and high-quality sources. So, to triangulate an estimate for these figures, I started with data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization on the harvested area for different varieties of fruit trees globally:

Bananas: 5.6 million hectares
Apples: 5.3 million hectares
Grapefruit: 358k hectares
Oranges: 4 million hectares
Plantains: 4.7 million hectares
Tangerines: 2.6 million hectares
Persimmons: 1 million hectares
Avocados: 564k hectares
Kiwifruit: 277k hectares
Apricots: 568k hectares
Cherries: 653k hectares
Peaches and Nectarines: 1.6 million hectares
Lemons and Limes: 1 million hectares
Papayas: 442k hectares
Coconuts: 12 million hectares

In total, there are 53 million hectares of fruit tree production globally. Based on this report from the USDA, we know that a fruit and nut tree farm in the U.S. has, on average, 60 harvested acres (5,641,474 bearing acres divided by 93,020 total farms = 60 acres/farm). That converts to 24.3 hectares. So, if we assume that the average productive area per farm is roughly the same globally as it is in the U.S., we can estimate the number of orchards globally:

53 million hectares of fruit tree production / 24.3 hectares per farm = 2.2 million farms

To determine the total number of fruit trees in production globally, I first had to calculate the number of trees for each variety of fruit, since the trees/hectare ratio varies notably for different fruit varieties. For each fruit variety, I found an estimate for the number of trees per hectare. For similar varieties, such as peaches, plums and nectarines, I assumed the same number of trees per hectare. In addition, if the source provided the number of trees per acre, I converted this data to hectares based on the assumption that 1 acre is 40% of a hectare. The data on hectares of production is the same as above, from the FAO.

Bananas: 5.6 million hectares x 800 trees/hectare = 4.48 billion trees
Apples: 5.3 million hectares x 2,000 trees/hectare = 10.6 billion trees
Grapefruit: 358k hectares x 335 trees/hectare = 119.9 million trees
Oranges: 4 million hectares x 335 trees/hectare = 1.34 billion trees
Mango: 5.4 million hectares x 1,000 trees/hectare = 5.4 billion trees
Plantains: 4.7 million hectares x 800 trees/hectare = 3.7 billion trees
Tangerines: 2.6 million hectares x 335 trees/hectare = 871 million trees
Pears: 1.6 million hectares x 2,000 trees/hectare = 3.2 billion trees
Dates: 1.4 million hectares x 160 trees/hectare = 224 milion trees
Persimmons: 1 million hectares x 2,000 trees/hectare = 2 billion trees
Avocados: 564k hectares x 250 trees/hectare = 141 million trees
Apricots: 568k hectares x 500 trees/hectare = 284 million trees
Cherries: 653k hectares x 750 trees/hectare = 489 million trees
Fig: 308k hectares x 1,200 trees/hectare = 369 million trees
Peaches/Nectarines: 1.6 million hectares x 500 trees/hectare = 800 million trees
Plums: 2.7 million hectares x 500 trees/hectare = 1.35 billion trees
Lemons and Limes: 1 million hectares x 335 trees/hectare = 335 million trees
Coconuts: 12 million hectares x 175 trees/hectare = 2.1 billion trees

If we add all of these together, we reach a total of 37.8 billion fruit trees globally.

conclusion

To wrap up, there are an estimated 2.2 million fruit tree orchards globally, with an estimated 37.8 billion fruit trees.

Did this report spark your curiosity?

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