Jordanian dates need further marketing — stakeholders

AMMAN — Palm dates sector representatives in Jordan on Sunday stressed the need for further marketing of the locally produced dates to have the Kingdom’s produce expanded into a wider range of global markets. 

Participants in the country’s first international date festival commended the event, organised by the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and the Agricultural Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and the Jordan Dates Association (JODA).

They said the idea of adding that the festival will play an important role in promoting the Jordanian date. 

“We drew 20 major buyers from international markets as part of this festival to sign contracts with Jordanian farmers. We hope that we can increase the percentage of exports to the international markets,” JODA President Anwar Haddad told The Jordan Times during the festival, which was opened on Monday.  

He noted that Jordan produces 25,000 tonnes annually and contributes around 14 per cent of Medjoul production worldwide.

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

Jordan, according to Haddad, was included in the list of date producing countries in 2017.

“There are only four countries that produce Medjoul in the world: Jordan, Palestine, Morocco and the US,” he noted, adding that palm trees cultivation is increasing in the country by 14 per cent annually and there are expectations to reach 1 million date palms in the coming 5 to 10 years, “depending on water strategy for this sector”.

The UAE is the number one market that deals with Jordanian Medjoul followed by Kuwait, Qatar, Turkey and Europe, Haddad commented. 

Mohammad Rashid, who represented a Jordanian company in the festival, said the local market is not that strong in terms of Medjoul demand compared to international markets, stressing that prices are affordable for all segments of society.   

Lutfi Arar, another participant, said that Medjoul are the most famous Jordanian date. 

“Turkey and the UAE are among the main markets that deal with the Jordanian Medjoul. Jordanians have to participate in international exhibitions and festivals to further promote these dates,” he told The Jordan Times.  

Salem Nino, a managing director for a date production company, said that the marketing process is not an easy task, especially for the small farms. 

“If you want to export your product, you should have a good harvesting process and post harvest handling so that you can compete in international markets. You also need to obtain international certificates,” he concluded.