Annual date exports worth $2.3bn globally: Saudi minister

The global value of date exports had reached an annual $2.3 billion, a Saudi government minister has revealed.

And the Kingdom’s Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli said that the sector now had more than 200 million palm trees — covering 1.5 million hectares (3.7 million acres) of land — producing 9.7 million tons of dates, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Forty countries, most from the Middle East and North Africa region, were involved in the import and export of palms and the sweet fruit.

Addressing a session of the International Dates Council, held in Riyadh, Al-Fadhli noted that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN had adopted the Kingdom’s proposal to mark 2027 as the International Year of Date Palm.

He pointed out that dates and palms had multiple uses such as for food, medical and cosmetic products, and building materials, adding that date cultivation helped toward achieving food security, sustainable agricultural development, and job provision in rural communities.

During his speech, Al-Fadhli highlighted some of the challenges faced by the industry, including climate change, the spread of diseases and pests, the low rate of consumption of dates globally (150 grams per person), high post-harvest losses, competition issues, trade obstacles, weak diversification, quality of dates, and marketing.

The International Dates Council held its first meeting in 2011, followed by gatherings in 2013 and 2019. It has a two-year renewable budget of $4 million a year.

The International Year of Date Palm will aim to raise awareness of the contribution of the palm and dates sector to achieving sustainable rural agricultural development and food security.