The carrot originates from Afghanistan, Central Asia, from where it spreaded to Europe and the rest of the world. Although it was already known by the Greeks and the Romans, it was not until the XVIIth century that the first orange carrots appeared. Nowadays its culture has spreaded all over the world. The main producing country is China, followed by the United States and Russia.

Originally, the carrot was a white root, like its wild relative.
In the Middle Ages the monks cultivated it in the monasteries for pharmaceutical use, since the texture was still woody, which made it quite impossible to eat.

During the Renaissance appear the first carrots with anthocyanins, that is to say, the orange colour that we know nowadays. However, it was not until the XIXth century that more tender carrots were produced.

At present, the world production of carrots reaches 18,443,000 tons. The European Union production reaches 6,000,000 tons. The list of European producers is headed by France with 670,000 tons, followed by the United Kingdom, Italy and the Netherlands. The main producing country in the world is China, followed by the United States.

The following table shows the world production:

Continent	Thousand tons	%
Africa	891	5
Asia	6,765	37
Europe	6,540	35
North America	2,885	16
Oceania	387	2
South America	975	5
Total	18,443	100

Source: Fresh Produce Desk Book (1999)

The 10 main producing countries are:

Country	Thousand tons
China	4,526
The United States	2,024
Russia	1,470
Poland	992
Japan	720
France	670
United Kingdom	625
Italy	505
The Netherlands	430
Germany	362

Source: FAO Production Yearbook, 1998

In the case of Spain, the production is estimated in 300,000 tons. The main producing areas are the provinces of Segovia, Cádiz and Toledo; Valladolid is increasing its dedication to this culture.