{"id":4681,"date":"2015-12-24T09:00:50","date_gmt":"2015-12-24T09:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.viewsoftheworld.net\/?p=4681"},"modified":"2016-01-04T20:16:09","modified_gmt":"2016-01-04T20:16:09","slug":"under-the-spreading-chestnut-trees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.viewsoftheworld.net\/?p=4681","title":{"rendered":"Under the spreading chestnut trees"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire<\/a>” has become a popular notion of Christmas ever since Torm\u00e9 and Wells wrote their Christmas Song<\/a>, made famous by Nat King Cole<\/a>‘s recording in 1946. The chestnut has seen a decline in use over the centuries<\/a> in Europe, having been brand-marked as ‘food for poor people’. But almost all across the continent (likewise in North America) it now also sees a revival in popularity in Winter time, especially around Christmas. Global chestnut production has constantly been rising, growing from almost 650,000 tons in 1993 to over 2 million tons in 2013 according to FAOSTAT<\/a> figures. And while the chestnuts roasting on an open fire have their origin in the United States, chestnuts consumed there have often traveled a long way. Although growing conditions are ideal, the USA have no significant chestnut industry<\/a> and account for less than 1% of the global chestnut production. This is different in Europe where commercial chestnut farming takes place in the Mediterranean, which, however, is challenged by the now top chestnut producer China<\/a>. China now produced almost 85% of the world’s chestnuts.
\nThe following gridded cartogram is a visualisation of the areas in the world where chestnuts are grown. Using data produced by EarthStat<\/a> the map shows each grid cell resized according to the total amount of chestnuts produced in that area:<\/p>\n

\"Map<\/a>
\n(click for larger version)<\/a><\/p>\n

Rather than transforming countries as a whole, the grid provides more detailed insights into where the main production areas are within a country. The colours related to the Worldmapper colour scheme<\/a> in which each country has a unique colour, while major regions are using one hue.
\nAs seen in the map, following China major producers of chestnuts are Turkey (around 60,000 tons in 2013 according to FAOSTAT<\/a>), Italy (57,000 tons), South Korea (56,000 tons), Bolivia (54,000 tons), Greece (22,000 tons), Japan (19,000 tons), Portugal (18,000 tons), North Korea (11,000 tons), and Spain (10,000 tons).<\/p>\n

\"Views<\/a>Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The content on this page has been created by Benjamin Hennig using data by EarthStat<\/a> and FAOSTAT<\/a>. Please contact me<\/a> for further details on the terms of use.<\/em><\/p>\n