Cabbages are one of the eldest vegetables known; they were already cultivated by the Egyptians in 2,500 B.C. Their origin is still not clear. Some authors think that they come from the coastal areas of the Mediterranean sea, whereas others state that they come from Minor Asia, from where they were taken to Europe. The Greeks and the Romans conferred them medicinal properties.

The figures of production, export and import of the FAO for the oleraceae under the term " cabbages" include all the Brassicae except for broccoli and cauliflower (headed cabbages, Chinese cabbages, red cabbage, Savoy cabbage, Brussels sprouts and kohlrabi). The main producing countries are China, Russia, India and Korea.

The worldwide cabbage production is as follows:

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 countries of cabbage production are the following:

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 export countries are:

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

Source: FAO Trade Yearbook, 1999

The 10 main import countries 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