EU cucumber production shifts as Italy and Germany expand
Spain remained the EU’s largest cucumber producer, accounting for 31.2% of output from a total 2.43 million tonnes in 2024. Italy, Germany and France recorded strong growth, while production declined in Poland and Romania.
Spain retains a dominant position
Spain remained the European Union’s leading cucumber producer in 2024, accounting for 31.2% of a total harvest of 2.43 million tonnes, according to FreshPlaza. The Netherlands, Poland and France followed. Together, the four countries represented 72.2% of EU cucumber production, leaving the market concentrated among a relatively small group of major growers.
Spain also expanded its harvest by 14.2% when the 2015-2017 average is compared with 2022-2024. Production in the Netherlands increased by a more moderate 5.7%. These gains reinforced the position of two countries already operating at substantial scale and with a high dependence on protected cultivation.
Italy and Germany post faster growth
The largest percentage increase among the countries covered by FreshPlaza occurred in Italy, where cucumber production rose by 33.8% between the two periods. Germany recorded growth of 26.1%, while French output increased by 25.5%. All three expanded from smaller production bases than Spain, meaning that their rapid growth did not displace the Spanish sector from the top position.
The picture was markedly different in Eastern Europe. Polish cucumber production declined by 3.1%, despite a significant increase in the share grown under protection. Romania recorded the steepest contraction, with production falling by 36.9%. The figures point to a widening performance gap between expanding producers in Italy, Germany and France and markets where gains in greenhouse cultivation have not been sufficient to support total output.
Greenhouses account for a rising share
Protected cultivation is more important for cucumbers than for tomatoes and continued to gain ground. Greenhouses produced an average 85.5% of EU cucumbers in 2015-2017, rising to 89.1% in 2022-2024. This production came from 56.6% of the cultivated area, showing the greater output concentration associated with protected facilities.
In the Netherlands and Belgium, cucumber growing is now almost entirely a greenhouse activity. Spain raised the protected share of its output from 96.9% to 98.0%, while Germany increased it from 88.8% to 93.5%. Greece moved from 89.4% to 93.8% over the same comparison periods.
Poland recorded the largest shift, with its protected share rising from 63.1% to 73.9%. Even so, it remained below the levels reported in several other producing countries, and its overall harvest still declined. FreshPlaza identifies this comparatively lower greenhouse share as one factor helping to explain Poland’s performance.
France was the exception to the wider trend. Its protected production share fell from 87.0% to 83.7%, even as total French cucumber output increased by 25.5%. For growers, processors and traders, the data show that greenhouse expansion remains central to the EU supply base, but investment in protected capacity alone does not guarantee growth in national output.
