Spain grows an enormous variety of crops, but it’s best known as the world’s largest olive oil producer, the country with the most vineyard acreage on Earth, and a leading European supplier of citrus fruits, almonds, and greenhouse vegetables. Its climate ranges from rainy Atlantic coasts to arid Mediterranean plains, giving it the diversity to grow everything from wheat and barley on its central plateau to tropical-style produce under plastic greenhouses in the south.
Olive Oil: Spain’s Signature Crop
Spain produces nearly 70% of the European Union’s olive oil, and since the EU accounts for over 60% of the world supply, that makes Spain the single largest olive oil producer on the planet. For the 2024/25 season, production is forecast at roughly 1.3 million metric tons, a return to average levels after recent drought-affected years. The vast majority of olive groves stretch across Andalusia in the south, particularly the province of Jaén, where rolling hillsides are covered almost entirely in orderly rows of olive trees. Olive cultivation also extends into Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, and Catalonia.
Vineyards and Wine Grapes
Spain has more than one million hectares of vineyards, the largest vineyard surface area of any country in the world. Despite that, it ranks third in wine production behind Italy and France, partly because many of its vines grow in dry, low-yield conditions across the central plateau. Castilla-La Mancha alone accounts for about 47% of the country’s total vineyard area. The region’s signature white grape, Airén, is one of the most widely planted varieties on Earth, though Tempranillo, the backbone of Rioja and Ribera del Duero reds, is the variety most associated with Spanish wine internationally.
Citrus Fruits Along the Mediterranean
Spain is the EU’s citrus powerhouse. Orange production alone tops 3 million metric tons in a typical year, representing more than half of the EU’s total orange output. Tangerines and mandarins add another 2 million-plus tons, and lemons contribute around 1 million tons.
Almost all of this comes from a narrow Mediterranean strip. Valencia and Andalusia together produce about 90% of Spain’s oranges. Valencia is also the dominant region for tangerines, growing roughly 75% of the national crop. Lemons concentrate further south, in Murcia, Valencia, and the Andalusian provinces of Málaga and Almería. The Fino variety accounts for the bulk of lemon production, with the Verna variety filling in during late spring and summer.
Greenhouse Vegetables in Almería
From above, the province of Almería in southeastern Spain looks like a sea of white plastic. This is Europe’s largest concentration of greenhouse agriculture, sometimes called the “plastic sea,” where tens of thousands of hectares of covered growing space produce tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, and watermelons year-round. The greenhouses take advantage of Almería’s intense sunlight and mild winters to supply fresh vegetables to supermarkets across northern Europe throughout the cold months. Much of this production relies on drip irrigation and biological pest control rather than heavy pesticide use, making the region a surprising center for integrated farming techniques.
Wheat, Barley, and Other Cereals
Spain’s central plateau, the Meseta, is grain country. Barley and wheat are the two dominant cereal crops, grown across a broad swath of provinces from Castilla y León in the north to Castilla-La Mancha in the south. Barley is actually more widely planted than wheat because it tolerates the dry, hot summers of central Spain better. Yields vary significantly from year to year. Drought remains the biggest risk: research on Spanish cereal production found that when drought conditions cross even moderate thresholds, the risk of significant crop loss jumps by roughly a third for wheat and can exceed 50% for barley in the most vulnerable areas. Maize is also grown, though it requires irrigation and is concentrated in wetter northern regions like the Ebro Valley.
Almonds and Other Nuts
Spain is the EU’s largest almond producer, with about 766,000 hectares planted in almond trees as of 2024. The forecast for the 2025/26 season is around 128,500 metric tons of shelled almonds. Almond orchards are found across much of eastern and southern Spain, from Catalonia down through Valencia, Murcia, and Andalusia, as well as on the Balearic Islands. Globally, Spain ranks behind the United States (specifically California) but well ahead of other Mediterranean producers. Hazelnuts are also significant, especially in Catalonia’s Tarragona province, and walnuts have been expanding in irrigated areas.
Organic Farming Is Growing Fast
About 10.8% of Spain’s total agricultural land is now farmed organically, slightly above the EU average. Over half of that organic acreage is pastureland, but the crop side is expanding quickly. Nuts account for about 10.2% of Spain’s organic farmland, followed by olive groves at 9.2%, cereals at 8.5%, and vineyards at 5.3%. Organic fruit and vegetable production has also been increasing, driven by demand from northern European export markets.
How Spain Manages Water
Farming in a country this dry requires serious water management. About 3.5 million hectares of Spanish farmland are irrigated, and agriculture consumes roughly 68% of the country’s total water use. Spain has undergone a dramatic shift in irrigation technology over the past two decades. In 1996, nearly 60% of irrigated land relied on traditional surface flooding. By the mid-2010s, that figure had dropped to 30%, while drip irrigation (microirrigation) rose from 17% to 48% of irrigated farmland. Sprinkler systems make up the remaining 22%. This modernization has cut total water consumption by about 11% even as irrigated acreage stayed roughly the same, though groundwater depletion remains a concern in the driest southeastern provinces.
Other Notable Crops
Beyond the major categories, Spain grows a surprising range of specialty products. Saffron, the world’s most expensive spice by weight, comes from the La Mancha region. Rice paddies in Valencia produce the short-grain varieties used in paella. Strawberries from Huelva province in Andalusia dominate European markets in early spring. Spain also grows significant quantities of sunflowers for oil, sugar beets in the northern meseta, and stone fruits like peaches, nectarines, and apricots in Aragón, Catalonia, and Murcia. The Canary Islands, with their subtropical climate, produce bananas, avocados, and mangoes.