1.2.4 Linseed
Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) belonging to the family Lineaceae is a blue flowering herb that produces small flat seeds, which vary from golden yellow to reddish brown and have a nutty flavor (Kajla et al. 2015). Flaxseeds, also known as linseeds, are an economically important oilseed crop used for industrial, food, and feed purposes. Generally the term flaxseed refers to the seed grown for fiber production (linen), while linseed refers to the oilseed grown for industrial and food uses. In the current chapter, both terms will be used indistinctively.
Linseeds are currently being cultivated in more than 50 countries, predominantly in the Northern hemisphere as shown in Figure 1.1. The harvested area in 2017 amounted to 2.78 Mha representing a 14.04% annual increase during the last decade. For example, in the EU, the area harvested increased from 52 000 ha in 2008 to 70 000 ha in 2019, representing an average annual increase of 13.5% (European Commission 2019). World production of linseed increased from 1.98 Mt in 2000 to around 2.79 Mt in 2017. At the beginning of the century, Canada was the world's largest producer and exporter of flax, and represented about 40% of the world's production and 75% of the global flax trade (Oomah 2001). Currently, Canada produces 0.51 Mt of linseed per year and ranks third in the list of top producers, surpassed by Kazakhstan and Russia, which produced 0.68 and 0.61 Mt, respectively. Currently, most of the linseed currently produced is grown in Asia followed by Europe and the Americas, with production shares of 44.7, 28.6, and 22.7%, respectively. Canada is still the biggest linseed exporter, followed by Russia, Kazakhstan, Belgium, and the US. Exports of these countries during 2017 were approximately 0.62, 0.61, 0.27, 0.18, 0.03 Mt, respectively. Major linseed importers were Belgium, China, Turkey, and Germany with 0.58, 0.47, 0.19, and 0.15 Mt of seeds imported during 2017.
Belgium, which imports large amounts of linseeds is one of the world's most important linseed oil producers. In 2014, 0.12 Mt of linseed oil were produced in Belgium, only surpassed by China with an annual production of 0.19 Mt third, fourth, and fifth major linseed oil producers were the US, Turkey, and Germany. Top five linseed oil exporters during 2016 were Belgium, Germany, Turkey, Kazakhstan, and Gambia. In turn, Gambia was the major linseed oil importer followed by China, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK.
1.2.5 Maize
Maize (Zea mays L.), also known as corn, is a cereal grain from the family Gramineae, which includes plants such as wheat, rice, or sugarcane. Cereal grains are key‐importance crops as they provide humans with more nourishment than any other food class and nearly 50% of the total caloric requirement (Ranum et al. 2014). Maize was first domesticated by indigenous peoples in the mid‐ to low‐land regions of what today is known as Mexico, around 9000 years before present (van Heerwaarden et al. 2011). Today, maize is a staple food in many parts of the world, with the total production of maize surpassing that of other staples including wheat (UN 2019). Table 1.1 lists some products recently launched into the market manufactured using maize oil. Production of maize showed an important increase in both area harvested and total production over the last decade. Currently, world area harvested is approximately 197.15 Mha, showing an important increase from 2007 when approximately 158.67 Mha of maize were harvested. World production of maize was 1134.74 Mt in 2017. Maize ranked fifth in the most produced commodities during 2017 according to data accessed from FAOSTAT, only surpassed by “total cereals,” rice, sugar cane, and “total coarse grain.” Approximately 50.9% of the maize produced during 2017 was cultivated in the Americas, followed by Asia and Europe with production shares of 31.9 and 9.7%, respectively. Largest producers were the US, China, Brazil, Argentina, and India with production quantities of 370.96, 259.07, 97.72, 49.47, and 28.72 Mt in 2017. Recently, the USDA predicted lower maize imports and production for 2018/2019. Larger maize exporters during 2016 were the US, Argentina, Brazil, and Ukraine with 55.99, 24.50, 21.87, and 11.01 Mt, respectively. Increased corn exports in Argentina and Ukraine are expected, partially offset by reductions for South Africa and Mexico (USDA 2019b). Japan, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, and Vietnam were the larger importers during this period with approximately 15.34, 14.10, 9.78, and 8.05 Mt, respectively (UN 2019). As a crop, maize is highly productive and versatile, and responded successfully to investments in research, breeding, and promotion. However, the current corn production system can be considered inefficient, at least at feeding people. Only a small fraction of the maize grown over the world is consumed directly by humans. Most of the maize currently harvested today is being indirectly used for human consumption as animal feed or as raw material for the production of maize‐derived products such as corn starch or corn syrup, or used for other industrial purposes such as the production of ethanol. An important part of maize production, approximately 40%, is being used as a raw material for the production of ethanol used as a motor fuel (Ranum et al. 2014). The utilization of maize for producing biofuels has a strong impact on production and trade. Indeed, total corn use was predicted to decrease by 165 M bushels (approximately 4.19 Mt) mainly caused by a 40 M bushel decrease (approximately 1.01 Mt) in the amount of corn used for ethanol production (USDA 2019b).
Only a small amount of the maize currently cultivated is used for oil production. Total maize oil production during 2014 was 3.18 Mt, led by the US, China, Turkey, and Brazil with oil production quantities of 1.82, 0.26, 0.19, and 0.09 Mt. Major oil exporters during 2016 were the US, Turkey, and Spain with approximately 0.47, 0.05, and 0.04 Mt of oil exported. Spain was also one of the largest importers, with 0.09 Mt, only surpassed by Libya, who imported 0.10 Mt of maize oil during 2016. Overall, although human consumption of maize has remained steady over the last years, its global production has slightly but steadily increased mainly caused by an increase in its use for animal feed and for biofuel production.
1.2.6 Olive Oil
The olive tree (Olea europea L.) is one of the oldest known cultivated trees in the world and olive oil has become one of the most widely accepted and used oils in culinary applications. The amount of food products manufactured using olive oil increases every year. Some of these are listed in Table 1.1. Olive oil is a staple food for people living in Mediterranean countries but its use is now expanding to other parts of the world. As can be seen in Figure 1.1, the olive tree is currently being cultivated in several countries including Spain, Italy, Greece, Tunisia, Portugal, Turkey, Morocco, Argentina, Australia, and the US, among others. The world production of olives was approximately 20.87 Mt in 2017. Approximately 62% of the total world production of olives was carried out in Europe, with Spain, Greece, and Italy the biggest producers with 6.54, 2.72, and 2.57 Mt/year in 2017, respectively. The EU is the leading producer, consumer, and exporter of olive oil: indeed, in the last five marketing years the EU produced, consumed, and exported 67, 55, and 67% of the worlds' olive oil. The biggest non‐European producers were