3 ms·

Do you think bananas sold in Europe are grown locally? Compared to all the stuff flown around, one extra shipment is a drop in the bucket.

• rfinney 8y ago
  Greece produces bananas. (source : https://en.actualitix.com/country/wld/banana-producing-countries.php https://en.actualitix.com/country/wld/banana-producing-count... page 10) Iceland used to produce bananas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_production_in_Iceland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_production_in_Iceland
  • 21 8y ago
    https://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/bananas_en https://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/bananas_en: European citizens are major banana consumers, making the European Union (EU) the world’s biggest importer of bananas from Latin America (nearly 70%) and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries (around 19%). The EU's own production of bananas amounts to around 11%.
    • marsokod 8y ago
      Yes, and to add to that a vast majority of this 11% is grown at quite a distance from the continent: Of the total banana volume marketed in Europe, which amounted to 6,122,898 tonnes, 11.3% is of EU origin, with the Canary Islands accounting for more than 60%, followed by the French Martinique and Guadeloupe (36%) and by the Portuguese Madeira (3%).
• mrob 8y ago
  Bananas are picked green and have a long shelf life if stored correctly. They are transported by sea. Lettuce has to be transported by air. Importing lettuce is more harmful.
• laurentl 8y ago
  I’m well aware of what produce is grown locally; I live in France and try to purchase local, seasonal fruits and vegetables as far as possible. But that’s just my point: we’ve grown used to this type of behavior, to the point that it’s become normal to fly lettuce around the world. Just another drop in the bucket as you say, but the article makes depressingly clear the fact that the bucket is overflowing.