Jan 4 (Reuters) - Canadian marijuana company Aurora Cannabis Inc on Thursday decided to partner with Danish tomato and pepper producer Alfred Pedersen & Son to produce and sell cannabis in Europe.

Aurora’s growth plan comes at a time when Canada is set to legalize the sale of recreational marijuana by July, becoming the second country in the world to do so after Uruguay.

Tomato and pepper - often grown in greenhouses - are the most common choices to convert to weed as they have similar growth requirements. The joint venture, which is majority owned by Aurora Cannabis, will focus on selling cannabis in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland, through Aurora’s German unit.

The newly formed company, Aurora Nordic Cannabis A/S, will set up a production facility, which can produce up to 120,000 kg of cannabis per year, Aurora said.

Aurora’s partner received its license to cultivate cannabis from Denmark’s Medicines Agency on January 1. (Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)