Ask the Expert

Does Iceland really have Europe's largest banana plantation?

By Staff

Strawberris, tomatoes, cucumbers, and... bananas Nearly all tomatoes and cucumbers consumed in Iceland are domestically produced in greenhouses. Various other fruits, including tropical fruit like bananas are also produced in greenhouses. Photo/Vilhelm.

Short answer is: Yes!

Despite the fact that Iceland’s climate is not ideal to 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.

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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 long answer is: Kind, of, depends on how you define Europe...

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, making those bananas African, rather than European bananas...

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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.

Guðríður Helgadóttir, who manages the Reykir research station, told the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service that the isolation of the Icelandic bananas might become very important in such a worst-case scenario. “Who knows, we might have something very valuable in our hands!”