JEDDAH: Saudi date producers have warned of higher prices for their products this year.
“Due to increased costs of operations and materials, including transportation, machinery and salaries we have no choice but to increase our prices by 25 percent,” said Muntasser Faddhi, deputy general manager of Bateel Dates in Riyadh.
Faddhi added that the importation of vital ingredients, such as chocolate and fruit fillings, have cost the company much more than previous years.
“Overall we have suffered an increase in production costs by as much as 35 to 40 percent,” he said and cited almonds used in the product was bought at double the price from last year.
Hani O. Mohammed, owner of a trading company by the same name in Jeddah that specializes in the import and export of agricultural products such as dates, said another reason for the expected increase in prices of the new harvest is the lack of enough skilled workers and bad weather which have both played a role.
“The date farm owners I have spoken to in the Central Region have said that yields of the crop will be lower this year due to a number of dust storms that have stricken the Kingdom earlier than usual this year and have damaged the dates before they could ripen,” he said.
A shortage of experienced workers who have opted to return home due to better economic condition in their countries and demand for higher wages by skilled workers have also been a contributing factor.
According to Mohammed’s estimates, date prices will rise by 20 to 35 percent depending on the size and variety.
“I would advise buyers of dates or related products to purchase before the new harvest hits the market,” he said.
However, due to low inventories some companies simply don’t have the option of purchasing now.
Meanwhile, as Saudi Arabia continues to reign as the second-largest date producers in the world (Iraq is No. 1), bringing in as much as 700,000 tons annually, global businesses in need of the staple are eyeing the Kingdom as a major supplier of the commodity as harvesting time and the ushering in of the Holy month of Ramadan draws closer.
“We have been getting many inquiries from various companies including restaurants, hotels, and snack food manufacturers but are unable to give a set price for date varieties for the new harvest,” said Bahr Khalid, owner of a date packing and manufacturing company in Madinah.
