According to Ministry of Planning figures, the UAE has become one of the biggest date producers in the world, with the number of palm trees exceeding 40 million at the end of last year. They include what the ministry's report termed as 16.3 million productive trees, yielding over 757,000 tonnes of date with a value of more than Dh1.9 billion (US$517 million) in 2002. Although they are inhabitant to cold and fertile areas, lime and other citrus fruits emerged as the second biggest crop, with the number of trees standing at around 325,000 producing nearly 22,000 tonnes.