The artichoke we know at present comes from a thistle that was cultivated by the Greeks and the Romans, although it was already represented in some Egyptian sculptures. There are many quotations that refer to its medicinal properties, and there are some indications about their healing properties. During the Middle Ages its consumption was not very important, although it reappeared after this period. During the XVI th and XVIIth century it was considered foodstuff for the high class and nowadays it is a common food in everybody’s home.

It is mainly cultivated in the countries of the Mediterranean basin. Europe is the main producer, accounting for 70% of the total world production.

Continent	Thousand tons	%
Africa	135	11
Asia	73	6
Europe	822	69
North America	54	5
South America	113	9
Total	1,197	100

Source: Fresh Produce Desk Book (1999)

The 10 main producing countries are the following:

Country	Thousand tons
Italy	514
Spain	284
Argentina	85
France	75
Egypt	60
United States	51
Algeria	35
Morocco	28
China	27
Turkey	26

Source: FAO Production Yearbook (2000)

Among the first countries in the list we find Italy, Spain, France and Egypt. These Mediterranean countries obtain 80% of the worldwide production. In the United States the production takes place mainly in the area of California.

In 1999 there were 51,000 tons of artichokes exported in the world, according to the FAO figures ( http://www.fao.org ), and the main exporting countries were Spain, France and Italy, one of the main producers. The following table shows the figures of 1999:

Country	Thousand tons
Spain	20,974
France	11,451
Italy	7,513
The United States	3,613
Mexico	2,004
Egypt	1,818
Morocco	692
Chile	560
The Netherlands	545

Source: FAO Trade Yearbook, ( http://www.fao.org )

The main importers of artichoke are, according to the 1999 FAO figures;

Country	Thousand tons
France	22,491
Italy	6,524
Spain	3,542
Canada	3,070
Germany	2,823
Belgium-Luxembourg	2,447
Switzerland	1,599
The United States	1,549
United Kingdom	1,116
The Netherlands	945

Source: FAO Trade Yearbook, ( http://www.fao.org )