Tropic acquires Rahan Meristem to expand global banana business

Tropic, the UK-based agricultural biotechnology company specializing in banana genetics, has acquired Rahan Meristem, a leading international banana propagation business with operations across Latin America, Asia and the Middle East. The acquisition significantly expands Tropic's production and distribution capacity and supports the commercial rollout of its new banana varieties. According to FreshFruitPortal, the deal positions the company as the world's first fully integrated banana genetics business.

The acquisition gives Tropic access to large-scale propagation facilities in many of the world's leading banana-producing and exporting regions, strengthening its ability to supply growers with improved planting material while expanding its international footprint.

According to FreshFruitPortal, the integration of Rahan Meristem will allow Tropic to accelerate the commercialization of its recently developed banana cultivars, following years of research focused on improving productivity, disease resistance and fruit quality.

"Welcoming Rahan and its team into Tropic creates a remarkable joint business with the operational scale and global reach to deliver critical banana innovations to growers worldwide," said CEO Gilad Gershon.

He added: "Together, we can help growers improve resilience and productivity while delivering better-quality fruit and reduced waste for consumers and supply chains."

The acquisition follows a period of rapid growth for Tropic. Earlier this year, the company completed a US$105 million Series C funding round and introduced the first commercially viable new banana varieties developed in more than 75 years, marking an important milestone for the global banana industry.

According to FreshFruitPortal, Tropic is now focused on increasing production capacity and expanding grower adoption of its new genetics across international markets.

By incorporating Rahan Meristem's propagation expertise, regional infrastructure and operational capabilities, Tropic expects to shorten the time required to bring new banana varieties to commercial scale while strengthening its presence across strategic agricultural regions.

The company believes the transaction represents a major step in its transformation from a biotechnology developer into a fully integrated agricultural business capable of delivering improved banana genetics directly to producers.

With operations now spanning key banana-producing regions in Latin America, Asia and the Middle East, Tropic aims to support growers facing increasing challenges related to climate change, plant diseases and productivity while helping improve supply chain efficiency and reduce food waste.

The acquisition also reinforces the growing importance of biotechnology and advanced plant genetics in ensuring the long-term sustainability of one of the world's most widely consumed fruits.