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Most-Grown Fruits Worldwide

What the are most grown fruits in the world by weight?
Dear nitpicker: We are using fruit in the culinary sense, not the botanical sense
"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad". Be wise.
For the year 2016 according to the FAO
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: November 30, 2018
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First submittedNovember 29, 2018
Times taken40,759
Average score68.8%
Rating4.42
2:30
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Tonnes
Fruit
117 mil
Watermelons
113 mil
Bananas
89.3 mil
Apples
77.4 mil
Grapes
73.2 mil
Oranges
46.5 mil
Mangos
32.8 mil
Tangerines
31.2 mil
Melons / Cantaloupes
Tonnes
Fruit
27.3 mil
Pears
25.8 mil
Pineapples
25.0 mil
Peaches
17.3 mil
Lemons / Limes
13.1 mil
Papayas
12.1 mil
Plums
9.12 mil
Strawberries
9.07 mil
Grapefruit
+8
Level 82
Nov 29, 2018
I'm guessing that the weight per unit of some of these fruits contributes to some unexpected results? Like I was definitely expecting grapes or bananas to come out on top, but watermelons are heavier and probably denser.
+4
Level 84
Jan 29, 2019
Watermelons are aptly named. 90% water by volume and quite heavy as a result.
+15
Level 83
Nov 29, 2018
Reason that so many more people got Melons/Cantaloupes than Watermelons: They thought that guessing "melons" would have given credit for Watermelons.
+5
Level ∞
Nov 29, 2018
What do other people think? Should watermelon be accepted when someone types melon?
+15
Level 75
Nov 29, 2018
I'd vote Yes. In NZ, we tend to call watermelons "melons", and what you describe here as melons as "rockmelons" (any chance of including the latter as a type-in?)
+6
Level 68
Nov 29, 2018
I agree, here in UK we'd expect melon to include all types.
+4
Level 81
Nov 29, 2018
I vote no, melons are more closely related to cucumbers (same genus) than watermelons (only same family). To me they are clearly different fruits and many languages have unrelated names for the two.

It's currently at 74% vs 71%, not a significant difference.

+10
Level 78
Nov 29, 2018
I got melons and assumed that included watermelons. It's all melon to me.
+10
Level 82
Nov 29, 2018
Yup, I didn't even think to try watermelon once melon had been accepted.
+6
Level ∞
Nov 30, 2018
Okay, melon will work for both now.
+1
Level 66
Feb 16, 2019
Is there a difference then, isn't it like putting apple and granny smith up there. They are both part of the same family right.
+4
Level 75
Feb 15, 2020
@Sifhraven Granny Smith and all other culinary apples are the same species. Watermelon and melon are not.
+1
Level 50
Nov 3, 2020
well technically Watermelons aren't melons at all there berries so in my opinion I think is should be different. In China (for example) Watermelon and Honeydew/Cantaloupe aren't called the same
+2
Level 77
Nov 29, 2018
The same thing happened to me.
+1
Level 92
Nov 30, 2018
Yes, I guessed melon so didn't think to try watermelon as a separate answer because in the UK watermelons are referred to simply as melons - I agree melon should cover watermelon...
+1
Level 81
Nov 30, 2018
In my experience as a native BrE speaker, I don't think this is true. I also did a quick search of the websites of two leading UK supermarkets and they both seem to make a clear distinction between "melon" and "watermelon".
+6
Level 92
Nov 30, 2018
Yes, OK, maybe my comment was over-generalising and I don't speak for everyone in the UK but my experience in the northwest of England is that watermelons are referred to as melons (I will clarify again that not every single person in the northwest of England will do this). I am not saying people don't realise that melons and watermelons are different but it is just what they call them, presumably out of laziness (like all shortened forms of any word or phrase). For example, if my girlfriend was eating watermelon, I will know in my head that it is watermelon but I would say "can I have some melon please?" She wouldn't reply by saying I am not eating melon, I am eating watermelon, she would understand what I am referring to but refuse my request...
+5
Level 72
Feb 16, 2021
I love these intense Jetpunk debates. If a watermelon is grown in Cyprus, is it a European fruit or an Asian non-melon?
+9
Level 60
Nov 30, 2018
Dear Quizmaster,

we are not nitpickers. The problem is that people like you want to use the word 'fruit' in multible senses. We'd only like to know, which meaning you are using.

+23
Level 74
Nov 30, 2018
To start with I don't understand what you are accusing the Quizmaster of saying, but for some reason, and it's probably just me, but anytime I hear the phrases: "people like you", "you people", or "those kind of people" I am automatically offended and rarely listen to anything else that the speaker has to say. Are you well enough acquainted with the Quizmaster to judge his/her intentions? I'm always amazed when a completely innocent comment or word is twisted to make it something more than it is. It is obvious from the correct answers that there is no implied slur, judgement, or condemnation intended. I seriously doubt that it would have crossed the mind of anyone here to put the word "fruit" into any other context until you unnecessarily raised the red flag of indignation. Also, I'm on this site too and I would appreciate it if you did not include me in your collective "we". If you have something to say speak for yourself. Thank you.
+24
Level 90
Jan 15, 2019
Deaq Quizmaster, don't let Geografii fool you. We are still nitpickers.
+1
Level 60
Oct 12, 2022
What is wrong with being a nitpicker?
+4
Level 87
Dec 4, 2018
Tangerines are a crossbreed of oranges, no? Like nectarines are a mixed up peach.
+1
Level 51
Jan 24, 2020
Yeah I didn’t think that’d be accepted
+1
Level 43
Feb 13, 2021
I would've thought so too..
+2
Level 73
Feb 14, 2021
Yeah I wasn't sure what was treated as separate there - tangerine/mandarin/satsuma/clementine, they all seem pretty much the same to me...
+1
Level 58
Aug 9, 2022
Oranges and tangerines are very different fruits, even if they have a common ancestor. Not only their taste, but the shape and how you eat it are different. If you don't know that probably tangerines (or oranges, or both) are not very common where you live.
+4
Level 68
Dec 5, 2018
Level 51!
+1
Level 27
Jan 29, 2019
Watermelon is not a fruit. It belongs to the squash family therefore making it a vegetable
+7
Level 71
Jan 29, 2019
But it's sweet and a plant. That makes it a fruit.
+2
Level 76
Jan 29, 2019
So sugar cane is a fruit?
+1
Level 71
Jan 29, 2019
Oh, I should have specified: It's a plant *that is eaten* and it's sweet. Thanks for the comment.
+10
Level 27
Jan 29, 2019
Sugar cane is definitely eaten! But - that's besides the point. Watermelon *is* a fruit, both technically and for culinary purposes. Squash is a fruit but not a culinary fruit. Rhubarb is an example of a true vegetable which is used like a fruit for culinary purposes.
+4
Level 70
Jan 29, 2019
Did you not read the instructions? Think before you speak.
+1
Level 59
Sep 29, 2021
Squash is a fruit. Is has seeds.
+4
Level 61
Jan 29, 2019
I would put in a caveat about coconuts so we don't start a fight here xD
+5
Level 66
Feb 16, 2019
*throws a coconut*
+1
Level 84
Feb 13, 2021
LOL!!! Nearly spit my drink out!
+1
Level 66
Jan 29, 2019
Clementines are NOT the same as tangerines. If tangerines and clementines are in the same category, make it "Clementines/Tangerines".
+2
Level 76
Jan 29, 2019
Did tomatoes appear on an earlier version of this quiz or were you just being tricksy, QM, and placing red herrings in the caveats?
+3
Level 65
Jan 29, 2019
Tomato is a fruit
+4
Level 71
Jan 29, 2019
not in the culinary sense. read the instructions.
+1
Level 72
Feb 16, 2021
The instructions hint that you shouldn't count tomatoes since you would "be wise" not to include them in a fruit salad. So would you include a lemon in a fruit salad?
+1
Level 75
Mar 12, 2021
So where do we stand on papaya? I have had many a Thai papaya salad.
+1
Level 60
Jun 7, 2022
but i do put tomatoes in my fruit salad
+2
Level 58
Aug 9, 2022
That's clearly not very wise, mister Kabouterbert
+1
Level 60
Oct 12, 2022
Why not it tastes good it has a lot of sugar in it like other fruits so why would you not put it in a fruit salad?
+2
Level 68
Nov 22, 2019
If you want to use the botanical definition here, then you can't limit "fruit" to tomatoes. Botanically, a cucumber is a fruit, too. So are squash, avocados, and eggplant. And peppers.

Plus, beans are fruit. So are nuts, and grains (wheat, oats, barley...).

The reason we have the fruit/vegetable debate for tomatoes but not for these other things is, I believe, because of a US Supreme Court case in the 19th century that referred specifically to tomatoes. The distinction entered the public consciousness and has never left, it seems.

+1
Level 60
Jun 7, 2022
but those are all fruits i would argue for sure avocado i have never thought of avocado as a vegetable ever in my life
+5
Level 80
Jan 29, 2019
My guess would be that eating a banana while taking this quiz should have given me a clue for one of the answers. It did not.
+1
Level 77
Jan 29, 2019
Mangoes*
+1
Level 52
Jan 29, 2019
Got papayas, missed grapes.
+1
Level 49
Jan 30, 2019
I got watermelon but not melon :/
+1
Level 66
Jan 30, 2019
Move aside, and let the mango through! Let the mango through!
+5
Level 71
Feb 5, 2019
Pawpaw should be accepted for papaya
+1
Level 66
Feb 16, 2019
Isn't that a word people use for grandad? Haha
+1
Level 64
Jul 3, 2019
Only missed plums. I was busy trying different types of berries.
+1
Level 51
Jan 24, 2020
Got all but apple. Never been the one to only miss the most guessed one lol
+4
Level 23
Mar 28, 2020
Please accept pawpaw. In this part of the globe we nothing about papaya.
+1
Level 60
Sep 28, 2020
Well, I've heard both, and I'm from the midwest.
+1
Level 71
Feb 13, 2021
The pawpaw that you’ve heard of probably isn’t the same as the pawpaw they’re referring to. Pawpaw is an Eastern US fruit rarely sold commercially that most people have never seen let alone tried. Papayas are not native to the US. The two fruits are not classified in the same genus or even order.

But I guess in some parts of the world, outside of the US where American Pawpaw is endemic, they call papayas papaw or sometimes pawpaws. So it can be quite confusing for Americans, particularly those in the east where pawpaws grow naturally.

+1
Level 34
Feb 17, 2021
In Australia the most common term is pawpaw.
+4
Level 56
Oct 5, 2020
Oh my god, ya'll. It's not that hard to follow instructions. You probably know what a 'traditional' fruit is. you're not being smart, you're being pretentious. XOXO
+1
Level 58
Feb 13, 2021
Why are tangerines separate from oranges?
+3
Level 57
Feb 21, 2022
because they are different fruits
+1
Level 68
Feb 15, 2021
Would it be possible to accept "naartjie" for "tangerine" for us poor South Africans please? Even first language English speakers use "naartjie".

Many thanks

+1
Level 69
Feb 18, 2021
Great quiz!
+1
Level 62
May 9, 2021
Surprised that figs and dates don't rate.
+1
Level 44
Apr 17, 2022
Watermelon isn`t fruit.
+1
Level 24
Jun 26, 2022
Wouldn't Pumpkin make the list?

just a question

+2
Level 58
Aug 9, 2022
Why you have a fruit called grape and another fruit called grapefruit? Arent grapes fruit enough? WHY ENGLISH LANGUAGE? WHY?
+1
Level 58
Aug 9, 2022
And dont you get me started on the watermelons, as if melons werent full of water already.
+1
Level 46
Nov 20, 2022
Sugarcane is considered a fruit in many countries