France, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Poland and Romania were last year among the EU countries that produced the most pumpkins and gourds in 2019, according to a Eurostat survey released on Halloween 2020.
In 2019, about 25 000 hectares across the European Union (EU) were devoted to cultivating them and other types of gourd. The EU Member States which produced the most pumpkins and gourds in 2019 were France (129 400 tonnes), Spain (129 100 tonnes), Germany (86 000 tonnes), Portugal (72 700 tonnes), Poland (68 500 tonnes) and Romania (20 840 tonnes).
In 2019, the EU imported 31 100 tonnes of pumpkins, squash and gourds from abroad, 81% more than in 2012. The highest share of the imports in 2019 came from South Africa (17%), followed by Panama (11%), Morocco (10%), the United Kingdom and Argentina (9% each) as well as Brazil (8%).
In 2019, the EU exported 21 700 tonnes of pumpkins, squash and gourds outside the EU, 64% more than in 2012. These exports were mainly to the United Kingdom in 2019 (63%), followed by Switzerland (16%) and Israel (11%).
Among EU Member States, Spain exported the most pumpkins, squash and gourds to non-EU countries (36% of the extra-EU exports in volume) in 2019, closely followed by Portugal (30%), ahead of France (12%) and Greece (10%).