Egypt is preparing to increase exports of its dates and take over the position of being the biggest global exporter from incumbent leader Israel.

In 2021, Egypt was not even one of the top 10 most prolific exporters of dates around the world, but by 2022, it is in the eighth position on the global rankings. But, Egypt is still exporting just a tiny amount relative to the amount that are produced by the country since it’s the most prolific producer worldwide of dates.

But, the situation began to change in the last 5-7 years. A number of large-scale projects were launched mostly centered around the producing dates of the Medjool dates variety, as well as others that have been recognized internationally. The material to plant this huge-scale plantations of dates comes most often by way of Saudi Arabia. The growth of areas has increased each year.

There is a growing concern among the leaders of local industries and those who want to conserve and increase the popularity of the local Egyptian types of dates. Additionally, the large palm plantations within Egypt have been facing the unexpected issue of the shortage of skilled workers. It’s a demanding job that demands a great deal of education and expertise, in particular dealing with the latest advanced kinds of dates for palms. Furthermore, a growing demand for dates in the local market as well as growing dates for exports may need different strategies.

The president has a special plan which is in effect that will yield 12.5 million dates over 192,000 hectares, within five years. Experts from the industry who were interviewed by EastFruit indicated that could be surpassed because there is an overwhelming interest among investors in the development of this sector. They must intensify training that will help young workers get into the industry as a shortage of workers could affect the return on investment of this venture.

It takes between 4 and 8 years for the palms of date to begin bearing fruit and 7 to commercial harvest, it implies that the initial large-scale projects have just begun to begin bearing fruit. But, they have already assisted in helping Egypt rapidly rise in the ranks of countries that export dates. Over the long future, once commercial production will begin to be taken, the increase in exports could increase significantly.

The most important question is how the market in the world is prepared to take in these extra dates, and if Egyptian exports will be marketed with a manner that will stop the price from falling. Egypt has been exporting dates to a low-cost segment. Flooding the market in a greater quantity may result in price reductions across the entire market, which could pose risks to farmers and exporters of Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Tunisia, Algeria, Iran and the USA.

Source: EastFruit

Source: The Plantations International Agroforestry Group of Companies