Table beet is original from the Mediterranean Europe and North Africa. Later on it spread all over Europe to western India, forming a secondary diversity centre in the Near East.
The European countries are great consumers of table beet. In Europe the main producers are England and France. In Spain, 564 ha of beet are cultivated, standing for 0.14% of the total area of vegetable cultivation. The culture is usually carried out outdoors in irrigated land (97%) although a small percentage (0,03%) is cultivated in dry land. The Spanish production in 1995 totalled 12,458 t chiefly intended for fresh consumption (82%). The average yields were 22.5 t / has in irrigated land and 10.1 t/ha in dry land.
The estimated production in 1995 by communities in Spain was as follows:
Area | Hectares | Tons |
---|
Córdoba | 255 | 5,100 |
Segovia | 74 | 2,220 |
Valencia | 20 | 740 |
Alicante | 30 | 585 |
Pontevedra | 21 | 525 |
Total | 400 | 9,170 |
Source: La Horticultura Española (2001) Sech.
As shown in the table, this culture has gained special importance in the communities of Castilla-León (Segovia), Andalucía (Córdoba) and Valencia.
Beetroots have little importance with respect to the rest of vegetables; they are considered in international publications, which lack production and marketing data.