The papaya fruit is original from Tropical America, where it was already cultivated before Columbus arrived. From there, the Spanish navigators extended its culture to other areas. At present it is widely cultivated in different regions like Hawaii, Australia and South Africa.
Nowadays it is mainly cultivated in South America, Asia and Africa, as shown in this table:
Continent | Tons | % |
---|
Africa | 1,021,615 | 14 |
Asia | 1,642,760 | 23 |
Oceania | 18,708 | - |
North America | 792,296 | 11 |
South America | 3,752,056 | 52 |
Total | 7,227,435 | 100 |
Source: FAO Production Yearbook, 2000
The following table includes the 10 countries with larger production of papaya. In first place we find Brazil, representing approximately 45% of the total production. It is followed by Nigeria, India, Mexico and Indonesia.
Country | Tons |
---|
Brazil | 3,300,000 |
Nigeria | 748,000 |
India | 644,000 |
México | 636,119 |
Indonesia | 450,009 |
The Congo | 213,000 |
China | 179,443 |
Peru | 165,000 |
Thailand | 119,000 |
Venezuela | 89,522 |
Source: FAO Production Yearbook, 2000
Among the papaya export countries, the leader is Mexico, followed by Malaysia and Brazil, as shown in the following table:
Country | Tons |
---|
Mexico | 59,959 |
Malaysia | 37,000 |
Brazil | 15,709 |
The United States | 5,939 |
Belize | 4,300 |
The Netherlands | 2,788 |
Jamaica | 2,600 |
India | 2,505 |
Guatemala | 2,200 |
Ghana | 1,374 |
Source: FAO Trade Yearbook, 1999