Permanent crops

All fruit trees, all citrus fruit trees, all nut trees, all berry plantations, all vineyards, all olive trees and all other permanent crops used for human consumption (e.g. tea, coffee or carobs) and for other purposes (e.g. nurseries, Christmas trees or plants for plaiting and weaving such as rattan, or bamboo).

Permanent crops are usually ligneous crops, meaning trees or shrubs, not grown in rotation, but occupying the soil and yielding harvests for several (usually more than five) consecutive years.

Permanent crops are usually intended for human consumption and generally yield a higher added value per hectare than annual crops. They also play an important role in shaping the rural landscape (through orchards, vineyards and olive tree plantations) and helping to balance agriculture within the environment.

Orchards may be of the continuous type with minimum spacing between trees, or of the non-continuous type with wide spacing.

Eurostat b, Glossary, accessed 10 April 2024

Source category: EC Technical Documents

Crops are divided into temporary and permanent crops. Permanent crops are sown or planted once, and then occupy the land for some years and need not be replanted after each annual harvest, such as cocoa, coffee and rubber. This category includes flowering shrubs, fruit trees, nut trees and vines, but excludes trees grown for wood or timber.

FAO, 2001, 'Food balance sheets. A handbook', Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy.

Source category: International Organisations