Roses are red, violets are blue, apples are sweet and they can be bi-coloured too!

These days, apples are no longer just red. They can be crimson, yellow, green and yellow... just ask the European fruit growers who are in Dubai this week for the International Perishables Expo Middle East.

Golden apples and other hybrids were the centrepiece of Monday's fair, with fruit growers showcasing uniquely-coloured apples from European orchards.

Among the varieties presented were the Red Jonaprince, a variant of the green-yellow and crimson Jonagold apple and the Golden Delicious, a hybrid apple that features a bright yellow colour.

"I hope that the opportunity to taste European bicolored apples will create a fashion for them and allow a better understanding of our European apple horticulture," said Jolanta Kazimierska, President of the Fruit Union Association.

Thanks to apple horticulture, there are now more than 7,500 varieties of apples worldwide, although only about nine varieties are heavily exported for global consumption.

Cultivating apples is popular in Europe, considered one of the world's biggest exporters of the fruit. European landscapes are often dominated by blooming apple trees.