Boxes of locally grown Iraqi dates are displayed at the Iraqi Dates Festival and Exhibition at the Baghdad International Fair on Wednesday
Iraq exports 500,000 tons of dates as palm cultivation triples since 2003
BAGHDAD — Iraq exported 500,000 tons of dates this year to India, East Asia, Morocco and Europe, according to Hussein Al-Wasiti, the prime minister’s adviser for agricultural affairs.
Speaking at the opening of the Iraqi Dates Festival and Exhibition at the Baghdad International Fair on Wednesday, Al-Wasiti said the number of palm trees in Iraq has increased from 7 million in 2003 to more than 22 million today.
“Today is an occasion to celebrate the blessed tree mentioned in the Holy Quran more than twenty times, the palm tree, which represents a symbol of Iraqi generosity that was registered as part of the world heritage in 2019,” Al-Wasiti said.
He said the Iraqi Dates Forum was created to bring together palm producers, farmers and marketers “under a national umbrella that highlights the importance of the palm tree and its agricultural and industrial products.”
Al-Wasiti credited the private sector for its contribution to the revival of date production. “The private sector played an important role by benefiting from the agricultural initiative loans launched by the government, which helped establish five companies for palm tissue culture and processing plants for date production,” he said.
Before the 1990s, Iraq had about 30 million palm trees and produced roughly one million tons of dates annually. Years of war, sanctions, and environmental degradation reduced that number sharply. Since 2003, rehabilitation efforts have helped revive the industry.
Nineveh sees revival of palm cultivation as Mosul nursery expands reach
