DESCRIPTION

Quinoa, from Quechua kinwa or kinuwa, is a flowering plant in the amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds; the seeds are rich in protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins, and dietary minerals in amounts greater than in many grains. Quinoa is not a grass, but rather a pseudocereal botanically related to spinach and amaranth (Amaranthus spp.), and originated in the Andean region of northwestern South America. It was first used to feed livestock 5,200–7,000 years ago, and for human consumption 3,000–4,000 years ago in the Lake Titicaca basin of Peru and Bolivia.Today, almost all production in the Andean region is done by small farms and associations. Its cultivation has spread to more than 70 countries, including Kenya, India, the United States, and several European countries. As a result of increased popularity and consumption in North America, Europe, and Australasia, quinoa crop prices tripled between 2006 and 2014.

World Production

• Worldwide 2,978,982,008 tonnes of total cereal is produced per year.
• China is the largest total cereal producer in the world with 614,697,756 tonnes production per year.
• United States of America comes second with 421,549,385 tonnes yearly production.
• With 324,300,640 tonnes of production per year, India is the third largest producer of total cereal.

World Total Cereal Production by Country

	Country	Production (Tons)	Production per Person (Kg)	Acreage (Hectare)	Yield (Kg / Hectare)
	China	614,697,756	441.004	97,908,088	6,278.3
	United States of America	421,549,385	1,286.133	52,492,802	8,030.6
	India	324,300,640	242.653	95,244,530	3,404.9
	Brazil	121,222,813	578.538	22,771,973	5,323.3
	Russian Federation	117,868,242	802.496	43,412,434	2,715.1
	Indonesia	85,297,388	321.858	16,322,662	5,225.7
	Argentina	84,948,777	1,909.197	15,408,405	5,513.1
	Ukraine	74,442,160	1,761.366	14,946,709	4,980.5
	France	70,378,890	1,045.795	9,394,040	7,491.9
	Canada	61,134,500	1,642.8	15,315,300	3,991.7
	Bangladesh	59,181,920	358.405	12,302,025	4,810.7
	Vietnam	48,208,141	509.277	8,462,494	5,696.7