ABU DHABI // UAE agricultural experts say locally grown mangoes could help to fill the supply gap caused by storm damage in the Indian subcontinent.
As reported last month, Pakistan and India supply the UAE with 70 per cent of its mangoes, but heavy rain has severely affected production this year.
Fatma Al Kalbani, director of agricultural development at the Ministry of Environment and Water, said local mango farming was booming as the country’s hot climate encouraged growth.
“Sandy soil, high humidity and warm temperatures in the UAE actually help the growth of the crop if watered,” she said.
Mango farms were started in the 1970s and are now particularly prevalent in the country’s east and north.
Ms Al Kalbani said there were more than 109,000 trees across the country, spread over 1,600 hectares.
Many different varieties of mangoes are grown, including alfonso, saf, dushree and qurat.
Pests and disease prevention were the most important challenges to the industry, Ms Al Kalbani said.
The ministry had introduced pest control programmes in which disease-resistant varieties were introduced, she said.
Ms Al Kalbani said the ministry was also applying modern irrigation and fertilisation methods to increase the productivity of mango trees.
akhaishgi@thenational.ae
