Karbala’s late date harvest opens a southern market

KARBALA — Karbala’s date harvest runs from August into December, giving growers a marketing window after southern governorates have finished, with fruit from the governorate eventually sold in Basra, Nasiriyah, Amarah and Samawah.

Barban, Omrani, Matouk, Maktoum and Khadrawi are picked in August, followed by Khastawi in September and Barhi before October, farmer Basim Ali Mani told 964media. Zahdi begins in October and Jibjab can stay on the palm until December. Most varieties are sold in baskets of about 3 kilograms, with Zahdi going in larger boxes and sacks.

Jibjab reaches about 11,000 dinars a basket, roughly $7. Barhi and Matouk sell at 8,000 to 10,000, Omrani around 7,000 and Barban about 5,000, depending on quality. Farmer Haider al-Zumaili said buyers come to Hussainiyah from Najaf, Diwaniyah, Baghdad, Muthanna, Dhi Qar and Maysan, but that Karbala has no date auction, leaving growers to sell to mobile traders or drive the crop to market themselves.

Karbala has about 3.2 million palms, concentrated in Hussainiyah, Ain al-Tamr, al-Khairat and al-Jadwal al-Gharbi, said Bahir Ghali of the Karbala Agriculture Directorate. The directorate runs free pest control against dubas bugs, red palm weevils, dust mites, inflorescence rot and the Humaira moth.