The kohlrabi originates from the northeast of Europe. Its consumption has stayed mainly in this area, while in others it is hardly known.

It was very popular during the XVIth and XVIIth centuries in the center and east of this continent. It is mainly produced in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In some places like the United States it is almost unknown.

The production, export and import data of the FAO for the term " cabbage" includes all the Brassicas oleraceas except for broccoli and cauliflower (headed cabbage, Chinese cabbage, red cabbage, Savoy cabbage, Brussels sprouts and kohlrabi). The main producing countries are China, Russia, India and Korea.

The world production of cabbage is:

Continent	Thousand tons	%
Africa	905	2
Asia	31,704	65
Europe	12,254	25
North America	2,722	6
Oceania	99	1
South America	557	1
Total	48,241	100

Source: FAO Production Yearbook, 1998

The 10 main cabbage producing countries are:

Country	Thousand tons
China	19,953
Russian Federation	4,500
India	4,200
Korea	2,755
Japan	2,550
The United States	2,084
Poland	1,778
Indonesia	1,401
Ukraine	1,070
Rumania	1,000

Source: FAO Production Yearbook, 2000

The 10 main cabbage exporters are:

Country	Tons
The United States	213
The Netherlands	164
Poland	87
China	86
Italy	66
Spain	57
Indonesia	36
Canada	36
Germany	28
México	20

Source: FAO Trade Yearbook, 1999

The 10 main cabbage importers are:

Country	Tons
Russian Federation	180
Germany	159
Japan	133
Canada	126
The United States	107
China	89
Malaysia	41
France	37
The Netherlands	36
Singapur	33

Source: FAO Trade Yearbook, 1999