Basra’s date palm groves reach peak production

BASRA — The date palm groves in northern Basra have reached their peak production, providing a critical supply of fresh dates to the Iraqi market. These groves are producing around 10 tons of dates daily, with the largest contributions coming from the Al-Madina district, followed by Qurna and Sadiq.

Local traders report that these fresh dates are being shipped to key provinces including Baghdad, Karbala, Najaf, Nasiriyah, Amarah, and Basra’s city center, ensuring wide distribution across the country.

Iraq’s palm tree count has increased to over 22 million, reflecting a growth of 5 million in the past three years, according to Mohammed Al-Khuzai, spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture. This expansion brings the country closer to its mid-1970s peak of 30 million palm trees, a number that was significantly reduced due to wars and climate changes, particularly affecting Basra, where more than a third of these palms are located.

The Ministry of Agriculture has set a goal to reach 25 million palms by 2027 through a government program focused on propagating rare varieties of date palms.

“We continue to harvest dates from the orchards in Al-Madina and distribute them to local markets, including Basra’s fruit and vegetable market, and other provinces,” said Daoud Al-Hassani, a date palm grove owner, in an interview with 964media.

Al-Hassani explained that, on average, each farmer harvests between 40 to 60 kilograms of dates per day. “The groves are spread across Al-Madina, Sadiq, Huweir, and Qurna, producing significant quantities of various types of dates daily, except for the ‘Khesab’ variety, which ripens in winter,” he added.

“Our first harvest began with the Sayer and Khadrawi varieties, and we are now harvesting the Barhi variety,” Al-Hassani said. “We sell most types of dates for 1,500 Iraqi dinars per kilogram, except for Barhi at 2,000 dinars and Sayer at 750 dinars.”

Al-Hassani noted that price fluctuations have impacted their sales strategy. “The Sayer variety used to generate good income, but when its price dropped to 750 dinars, we decided to leave it on the palm trees to ripen further into dates, which we can sell at a higher price.”

Abu Qasim Al-Hamdi, a date trader, highlighted the scale of production, stating, “Al-Madina district and some neighboring areas produce around 5 tons of dates daily, while other districts produce similar amounts, bringing the total daily production in northern Basra to around 10 tons.”

“We distribute these crops to Basra’s city center and other provinces like Baghdad, Karbala, Najaf, Nasiriyah, and Amarah,” Al-Hamdi added.

As the date season reaches its peak, farmers and traders in northern Basra are working tirelessly to meet the high demand in both local and regional markets.

Iraq’s export market has also seen significant activity, with 6,500 tons of dates exported to China in the first half of 2024, worth $2 million.

However, climate change continues to pose a significant challenge to the country’s agriculture. Iraq is ranked as the fifth-most vulnerable country to the impacts of climate change, according to the U.N. Environment Programme, exacerbating the challenges faced by the agricultural sector.