Original content
What drives the price of dates?
Which are the top date producing countries?
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Iran were the largest producers of dates in 2019, with Egypt ranking first (1.60M MT, 18.3%), Saudi Arabia ranking second (1.54M MT, 17.6%) followed by Iran (1.31M MT, 14.9%). The top date-producing regions are located mostly in Asia and Africa.
What is the harvesting season for date?
Seasons are different depending on the region, but the usual high season for harvesting dates extends between September and December. Several countries such as Tunisia, the United States, and Algeria have harvest seasons between those four months. Meanwhile, for Egypt as a leading producer country, the peak season for harvesting mostly was in September and reached the low season in December. As for the global seasonality, dates reach its highest peak in September and the lowest harvest season around February and June.
What are the different grades of dates?
Who are the top exporters of dates in the global market?
Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, and Israel were the top exporters of dates in 2020. Tunisia’s export value of USD 307,365K with the export quantity around 120,677 MT, followed by Saudi Arabia with an export value of USD 245,969K and export quantity of 213,411 MT. The third leading exporter was the United Arab Emirates with an export value of USD 161,717K and export volume of 65,619 MT.
Who are the top importers of dates in the global market?
India, Morocco, and France were the top importers of dates in 2020. India's import value was USD 224,980K and the import quantity was around 362,209 MT, followed by Morocco with an import value of USD 158,155K and import quantity around 76,161 MT. The third leading importer was France, with an import value of USD 113,958K and an import volume of 50,487 MT.
What are some major pest issues?
White scale, caused by Parlatoria blanchardi is widely present in most date palm growing areas of the world except in the USA, where it was eradicated in 1936, and in some countries of the southern hemisphere (Namibia and RSA). It is considered a serious pest in Algeria, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. Iraq, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan consider this pest a moderate one, while Egypt, Jordan, UAE, and Yemen consider it a minor pest. Damage by white scale is severe on young palms between two to eight years of age, but the palm and its offshoots do not die even under severe attacks.
Red scale, Phoenicococcus marlatti (Cockerell), is exclusively a pest of palms, particularly date palms, with other palms as host plants (e.g., Doupalm, Canary Island palm, and the California fan palm). It is probably found wherever the date palm is cultivated, but with no significant threat (Dowson, 1982). The extent of its damage is known to be less than that caused by the Parlatoria scale. Leaves of the date palm are often clotted over with thin, minute, greyish scales with darker centers. The darker spot is oval in outline and is the body of the insect itself. The individual scale is seldom larger than a small pinhead, roundish in shape, and deep pink to dark red, but partly or entirely covered with a white waxy secretion that forms a cottony mass (Nixon and Carpenter, 1978).
Bou Faroua, also called Goubar or Old World date mite, is caused by Oligonychus afrasiaticus McGregor, and O. pratensis Banks. This mite is present in all date growing areas, and the damage is severe in neglected plantations. Immediately after the fruit set (Hababouk stage), mite eggs are deposited to produce larvae which will feed on the fruits and later cover these with a web retaining sand particles. The cycle length is about ten to fifteen days, depending on temperature. Mites will rapidly multiply causing the drop-off of the fruits. Affected mature fruits are of no commercial value.
Caroub moth also called "Ver de la Datte" in French, is caused by Ectomyelois ceratoniae Zeller, and is found in all date growing areas. The larva of the Caroub moth attacks dates in plantations, packing houses, and stores. Eggs are laid on the dates, and hatching begins four days later. The larval period is about three weeks in warm months and eight weeks in colder months. The pupal period is about five days. Considering the moth's life cycle, it is recommended to protect the fruit bunches, clean the plantation from wind-fallen fruits, and fumigate harvested and stored dates. The use of pheromone traps will help determine the emergence of moths and estimate the population level. In addition, the rate of infestation could be lowered by spraying the infested fruits with Bacillus thuringiensis (Djerbi, 1994).
Source:
Chapter XII: Diseases and Pests of Date Palm
What factors determine the quality of dates?
Read more relevant content
Recommended suppliers for you
What to read next
