RIYADH, 12 December 2002 — Saudi farmers have criticized some Arab countries including Egypt and Jordan for importing Israeli dates in place of their products.
Abdul Aziz Al-Tuwaijeri, chairman of the date producers and exporters committee at the Qassim Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Israel has started exporting dates to a number of Arab and Gulf countries.
“Despite the small quantity of its production, Israel is posing stiff competition to Saudi dates,” he told Al-Watan. He estimated Israel’s dates output at 12,000 tons.
He said that farmers in the Qassim region alone sold dates worth more than SR1.3 billion last Ramadan. Saudi Arabia produces 850,000 tons of dates annually.
He said the Kingdom lacked an organized market for dates.
“In some areas you will find a variety of dates in plenty but some other areas lack adequate supply,” he said.
Tuwaijeri stressed the need for organizing fairs in various parts of the Kingdom to promote dates.
