In 2017, there were almost 1.3 million hectares of fruit trees in the EU. A little more than a third of that figure corresponds to apple trees (473,500 ha, 37%) and a fifth to oranges (255,500 ha, 20%). The rest was distributed between peaches (190,500 ha, 15%), small citrus fruits, such as satsumas and clementines (139,600 ha, 11%), pears (100,400 ha, 8%), apricots (75,700 ha, 6%) and lemon trees (60,100 ha, 5%). The acreage devoted to fruit trees represented around 1% of the agricultural area in use (173 million hectares in 2016), according to the latest Eurostat data. Where are the fruit trees? Two thirds of the acreage planted with fruit trees in the EU were in Spain, Italy and Poland. Spain led the ranking, with 422,800 hectares; 33% of the EU total, and was followed by Italy (279,300 ha, 22%) and Poland (167,300 ha, 13%). Compared to 2012, the EU's fruit acreage increased slightly (+0.4%). Between 2012 and 2017, the countries that recorded the greatest growth were Poland (+16,300 ha, +11%), Greece, Romania and Portugal. Meanwhile, the acreage was reduced in Spain (-9,800 ha less, or -2%), Italy (6,300 ha less, or -2%), the Czech Republic and Croatia. The top producers for various fruits Citrus: the largest acreage is in Spain, with slightly more than half of the total (135,100 ha, 53%), followed by Italy, with almost a third (78,300 ha, 31%). Apples: Poland has the largest area, with a third of the total (160,800 ha, 34%), followed by Italy and Romania, each accounting for about a quarter of the acreage (55,800 ha and 55,100 ha, respectively; both with 12%). Peaches: Spain has the largest area, with 41% of the total. Pears: Italy is in the lead, with 29,000 ha (29%). Apricots: The largest area is in Spain, with 32%. Source - https://www.freshplaza.com