3rd int'l dates festival to kick off late November

AMMAN — The Kingdom's annual production of dates totalled 27,000 tonnes, 15,000 tonnes of which are Medjoul dates, accounting for 14 per cent of the world’s Medjoul dates, Minister of Agriculture Khalid Hneifat said on Wednesday.

The minister’s remarks came during a press conference to announce the activities of the third international dates festival, which is scheduled to be held between November 21 and 23 in Amman, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Known as “Medjoul”, the Jordanian date, or “king of dates”, is a popular variety famous for its high quality and sweet taste.

The event is organised in cooperation with the support of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, and the Jordan Dates Association with the support of Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Minister of Presidential Affairs, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Hneifat said that there are 45,000 dunums of land planted with date palm trees, noting that the Kingdom is home to 650,000 palm trees, with an annual growth rate between 8 and10 per cent distributed along the Jordan Valley, Aqaba and Ghor Al Safi in the south and east of the Kingdom and in the Azraq region.

He expected that the total area would reach about 5,000 hectares by 2030 with a production of up to 50,000 tonnes, with an estimated value of $150 million.

Secretary General of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation Abdel Wahab Zayed said that the international festival will witness the participation of more than 65 farmers, producers and manufacturers from five Arab countries: the UAE, Sudan, Jordan, Egypt and Palestine.

The festival will feature a symposium that will host more than 20 researchers from around the world to present the latest research developments, he noted.

The event will witness the launch of the fourth edition of the Jordanian date competition, the winners of which will be honoured during the festival.