The lettuce has its predecessor in a wild species that grows in most of the tempered areas of the planet; therefore, its geographic origin is not clear. It is mainly cultivated in Asia, representing half of the world-wide production, followed by North America and Europe.

The lettuce was well-known by the Sumerian, Egyptian, Persian and Roman people. Its consumption diminished during the Middle Ages, but it was once again in fashion during the Renaissance. In the XVIth century, the Roman lettuce was introduced in France, from where it spread to England. Nowadays, it is consumed everywhere in the world.

By continents, the main producer is Asia, standing for half of the world-wide production. It is followed by North America and Europe. The production by continents is as follows:

Continent	Thousand tons	%
Africa	63	-
Asia	8,428	50
Europe	3,560	21
North America	4,502	27
South America	208	1
Oceania	165	1
Total	16,926	100

Source: FAO Production Yearbook, 2000

The country with larger production of lettuces is China, followed by the United States. The countries that follow, with less production, are Spain, Italy and India.

The 10 main producers are:

Country	Thousand tons
China	6,255
The United States	4,230
Spain	1,050
Italy	923
India	770
France	630
Japan	540
Turkey	295
Belgium-Luxembourg	180
United Kingdom	175

Source: FAO Production Yearbook, 2000

Among the export countries, Spain is the one with greater amount of sells, followed by the United States and Italy. These three countries are also among the four chief producers.

The main exporters of lettuce are:

Country	Thousand tons
Spain	420
The United States	318
Italy	126
The Netherlands	89
France	80
Belgium-Luxembourg	77
Mexico	29
Jordan	19
Germany	14
Canada	13

Source: FAO Production Yearbook, 2000