Al Barakah Dates has announced plans to double the size of its operations in Dubai, making it the world’s single largest processor of date ingredients.
The expansion will see the factory increase its production to more than 100,000 tonnes of date and date products each year, which is equivalent to almost half of the UAE’s domestic harvest. It currently produces 65,000 tonnes of dates, syrup and paste annually.
The company said the increase in date production, which will also see it become the world's biggest privately owned date factory, is driven by demand for healthier alternatives to sugar and other fructose-based products.
The expanded factory in Dubai Industrial City, which will cover 55,742 square metres, is due for completion in early 2022.
It will also be equipped with more than 6,500 solar panels to offset 3,000 tonnes of emissions per year.
“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.
“Today we have taken the traditional date and transformed it into various ingredients that serve as direct sugar replacements. These include pastes, syrups and date sugars.”
