The Country That Leads The World In Strawberry Production (It's Not The US)

Strawberry season has practically become a holiday for many agricultural communities across America. Whether you love making delicious desserts with fruit or simply eat the produce on its own, there's always a delicious reason to stock up on nature's sweet red gems. Harvesting turns into a family experience at pick-your-own farms. Multiple-day festivals are circled on spring calendars in communities from Georgia to California, which is the state that leads U.S. strawberry production. But America isn't even close to being the top producer of strawberries in the world. That distinction belongs to China.

According to World Population Review, data from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization shows that China produced approximately 4.2 million metric tons of strawberries in 2023. That amounted to more than three times the quantity grown by the U.S. (about 1.3 million metric tons) and over six times the output of the third-largest producer, which was Turkey at 676,800 metric tons.

The crop's popularity in China has multiple explanations, one of which is dietary. A 2011 U.S. Department of Agriculture report highlighted the increasing importance of fresh fruit in people's diets. Indeed, the vast majority of domestically consumed strawberries were intended for fresh consumption. China also exports frozen strawberries to countries like the Netherlands, Japan, and Russia. However, most U.S. imports come from Mexico, which ranked as the world's fourth-highest producer in 2023 at 641,600 metric tons.

China's place in the strawberry industry is relatively new. The fruit wasn't on the scene at all until the early 1900s, and production started to ramp up in the 1990s. Huan Zhang of Twinkle Star Berry explained one of the reasons the fruit has become so popular in China at the International Strawberry Congress in 2025. "The red color and heart shape are also very much in line with Chinese culture, where red symbolizes happiness, and strawberries are often given as gifts," he said (via Fresh Plaza). "A lot of attention is paid to presentation: strawberries are carefully wrapped in plastic, often in luxury boxes or as gift packaging."

Zhang added that folks in China prefer a sweet and mild flavored strawberry, but that it isn't ideal for exports. As production continues to increase, researchers in China are examining seedling cultivation, and the government is dedicating resources to examine new farming techniques and build the infrastructure needed to expand the industry even further.