Dubai to have world’s largest date factory

Dubai - Al Barakah Dates on Sunday announced that it plans to double its facility which would become the world’s biggest privately-owned date factory in Dubai Industrial City.

Dubai will be home to the world’s largest dates and date-product factory which can process more than 100,000 tonnes of dates and date products annually.

Al Barakah Dates on Sunday announced that it plans to double its facility which would become the world’s biggest privately-owned date factory in Dubai Industrial City. The company’s 100,000 tonnes of date and date products are equivalent to almost half of the UAE’s entire domestic harvest, it said in a statement on Sunday.

The new factory will cover a total area of 600,000 square feet, including 420,000 square feet of dedicated processing and cold storage space, and is due for completion in early 2022. The sustainable facility will be equipped with more than 6,500 solar panels to offset 3,000 tonnes emissions per year.

Date production has been on the rise year-on-year, driven by demand for healthier sugar alternatives and fuelled by modern technologies that have helped the products compete as healthy and vegan alternatives to sugar and other fructose-based products.

“This expansion will allow us to further grow our range of organic and conventional date products to cater to the growing needs of health-conscious consumers around the world,” said Yousuf Saleem, managing director of Al Barakah Dates.

waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai