FACTS

Only about 81,000 hectares (200,000 acres) of land are cultivated. The most productive region is Ra's al-Khaimah, which receives underground water supplies from the nearby mountains of Oman and which enjoys the most plentiful rainfall. The main crops are tomatoes, melons, and dates.

UAE Produced Vegetables

Fresh tomato paste for the UAE market made from purely locally grown tomatoes. UAE also grows organic, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and green beans.

UAE Produced Melons

Only one part of the Gulf Coast receives rainfall, therefore people use a water cooling system to grow watermelons in plastic greenhouses with marsh-reed-like screen walls on both sides. Then they drip water down the walls and supply the greenhouses with fan-cooled air. Therefore a lot of effort is put into for growing watermelons.

UAE Produced Dates

There are around 40 different kinds of dates being produced in the UAE today. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the UAE came in fourth with a total production of 755 thousand tons, or 11% of global production.