Abu Dhabi-based Elite Agro has secured a licence from Australia’s Mountain Blue Orchards to grow its blueberries on UAE farms before branching out to other Middle East countries.
In the UAE, low tunnel greenhouses will be used in cultivation. The first harvest is expected after four years, with production of 26 tonnes per hectare. UAE consumers ate 1,200 tonnes of blueberries in 2014. There was a 7.6 per cent total market consumption growth between 2014 and 2015.
Elite Agro cluster MD, Saeed Al Bahri, said, “Elite Agro LLC will become one of the top blueberry growers in the world. We already grow a large area in Morocco and supply countries in Northern Europe through a well-known international brand. We also have 100 hectares planted in Serbia.”
