Saudi dates are steadily making their way to the global market

RIYADH - The latest indicators on the activity of the Saudi date sector confirmed that it is steadily making its way to the global markets thanks to the steady growth of exports, which reflects the strong competition with Arab countries to win the largest buyers.

The Palm and Dates Center announced that date exports rose last year by 5.4 percent on an annual basis, bringing their revenues to one billion and 280 million riyals ($340 million), more than double compared to the previous year.

In 2021, the country achieved revenues of $146.4 million from exporting 185,000 tons of dates, compared to 121,000 tons in the corresponding period in 2020, and 111,000 tons in 2019.

An increase of 121 percent was recorded during the period between 2016 and 2022, as the annual growth rate of date exports in those seven years increased by 12 percent.

340 Million dollars revenues of the sector in the past year, more than double the annual comparison

Saudi Arabia produces about 1.5 million tons of dates every year, and it has about 300 different types, so it is considered the second largest producer of dates in the world after Egypt and has 17 percent of the world’s production of this product.

In a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency on Sunday, the center indicated that what has been achieved reflects the government's interest in enhancing non-oil revenues and developing the work system in cultivating and improving date palm production based on Vision 2030.

This agenda paid great attention to the palm and dates sector through its development and sustainability. It also worked from an early age to prepare and implement programs to develop the sector and raise its contribution to the GDP.

The center pointed out that the development of the date palm sector helped increase the spread of Saudi dates in most global markets, as the importing countries reached 116 countries.

Saudi Arabia is working to raise its share of global date exports to 20 percent before the end of 2025, ensuring that it is ranked first among the countries exporting dates globally.

To achieve the goal, the government established the National Center for Palm and Dates in 2010, which focused on contributing to the development of the palm and date sector in the country.

The field of date production contributes to many manufacturing and food industries, to include food, fodder and other industries

The main tasks of the center were to approve the establishment or acquisition of companies or to participate in them in the field of specialization.

The number of date palms in the largest economy in the Arab region is more than 31.2 million, and they are spread over an area estimated at 107 thousand hectares. The central region, which includes the Qassim region, is the most productive of dates in the country.

Since the launch of the Saudi Dates Mark, the number of palm trees bearing the mark has reached 1.7 million, constituting 5 percent of the total number of palm trees in the country.

Date revenues can constitute record numbers, especially after developing the supply chain for farms through the launch of post-harvest service centers that allow farmers to benefit from the services provided such as packaging, cleaning and storage, in addition to marketing the products.

The field of date production contributes to many manufacturing and food industries, to include food, fodder and other industries such as medical and cosmetic products and building materials industries. Official estimates indicate that the number of date factories in Saudi Arabia is 157.