Bananas in Europe

Hello!

I'm Tom and I'm going to tell you more about bananas in Europe.
So to start, did you know that over 60 per cent of European bananas are produced in Spain? Neither did I!
Spain was Europe's largest banana producer in 2016, with a total of 417,176 tonnes, according to data provided by the Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the EU.
Of the total banana volume marketed in Europe, which amounted to a little over 6 million tonnes, 11.3% is of EU origin!
The Canary Islands accounting for more than 60%, followed by the French Martinique and Guadeloupe 36% and by the Portuguese Madeira 3%.

Another little fact is that one of the biggest banana plantations in Europe is located in Iceland.
Despite the fact that Iceland’s climate is not ideal for growing bananas, Iceland probably has Europe‘s largest banana plantation. Located in a greenhouse in the village of Reykir in South Iceland, the Icelandic banana production is managed by the Icelandic Agricultural University. The annual harvest is admittedly quite low, only 500-2,000 kg of annually.

This is where they grow the bananas in Iceland.

Bananas were first produced in Iceland in 1941. Using cheap geothermal energy to heat the greenhouses and cheap electricity to provide illumination during the darkest months, it was possible to grow bananas in the middle of the North Atlantic. Import duties on imported foodstuffs and fruit meant the Icelandic bananas were competitive, and Icelanders consumed domestically produced bananas until the late 1950s. Since 1959, however, all bananas sold in stores have been imported.

The claim that Iceland has the largest banana plantation in Europe has been disputed by fact checkers. But because it is an excellent story, it has survived any attempts at correction. One of the arguments used by the pro-Iceland as Europe’s largest banana producer camp is that Spain, the largest European banana producer, actually grows bananas on the Canary Islands, which are part of Africa, rather than Europe.

The banana plantation in Reykir is operated by the Icelandic Agricultural University which has been growing bananas at its research station in Reykir since the 1950s. The bananas have remained completely isolated since then, safe from contact with plant diseases, including the Panama Disease which is currently decimating the world’s banana plantations. Many fear the disease, caused by a fungus, could wipe out the Cavendish banana, which is the most common type of banana consumed today.


Fun fact: Bananas are actually berries, yes you heard it, BERRIES like blueberries. So bananas are long, curved berries, isn’t that fascinating? They can vary in size, colour and firmness. You even have purple bananas .

Purple bananas!

In Europe we mostly eat the dessert bananas. Sometimes we eat plantains these are the bananas we use in hot recipes like banana on the BBQ. In Europe we eat bananas in smoothies, ice cream and in banana bread, but we also eat them on the BBQ or caramelized, yummy!