Jordan has nearly one million palm trees, more than 85% of which are Medjool, while around 10% are Barhi and the remaining 5% belong to other varieties, the chairman of the Jordan Dates Association said.
اضافة اعلان
The country has more than 700 date farms covering over 56,000 dunums, with total production exceeding 37,000 tonnes, he said.
Haddad made the remarks during a session organized by the Jordan Economic Forum as part of its Economic Salon under the theme “Jordanian Dates: Promising Opportunities and a Driver of Growth,” which examined the sector’s current state, development, investment and export opportunities, and the challenges facing it.
Haddad said the sector provides more than 10,000 jobs, with women accounting for over 40% of the workforce. It also includes 15 processing facilities with a combined annual production capacity of 20,000 tonnes, while investments have exceeded $500 million. Average annual date consumption in Jordan stands at around 4 kilograms per person.
He estimated that around 65% of Jordan’s date production is exported, with annual export revenues of approximately 60 million Jordanian dinars. He expected the figure to rise to 150 million dinars once all cultivated areas reach full production.
Most exports consist of Medjool dates, while demand for Barhi dates is also increasing, Haddad said.
He outlined the sector’s growth, noting that production and cultivated areas rose from 1,321 tonnes and 2,640 dunums respectively in 2000, to 3,965 tonnes and 6,560 dunums in 2006, 10,417 tonnes and 18,400 dunums in 2012, and 26,190 tonnes and 32,740 dunums in 2018. By 2026, production had reached around 37,000 tonnes across 56,000 dunums.
Date exports increased from 720 tonnes worth $473,000 in 2001 to 2,209 tonnes worth $3.651 million in 2006, 2,704 tonnes worth $5.551 million in 2012, 6,603 tonnes worth $19.781 million in 2018, and 20,083 tonnes worth $71.946 million in 2024.
Commercial Date Farming Expands
Haddad said commercial cultivation of the Moroccan-origin Medjool variety began in Jordan in the early 1990s, with the first trees beginning to bear fruit in 1999 and 2000. Palm cultivation subsequently expanded significantly over the following 25 years.
Date farms are spread along the Jordan Valley, including its northern, central and southern areas and the Baptism Site, as well as Azraq and Aqaba.
He said location, climate and environmental conditions are key factors shaping the characteristics of Jordanian dates, noting that Medjool dates naturally ripen on the tree.
Haddad also referred to a 1995 study examining date varieties and their cultivation potential. The study recommended Medjool because of the suitability of Jordan’s environment for its cultivation.
The study was conducted at the Agricultural Credit Corporation by a national team of 11 researchers from different disciplines, led by Haddad, and was financed by the Ministry of Planning with 15,000 dinars.
He said the expansion of palm cultivation was based on scientific research, with studies and publications addressing the strategy and positioning of Jordanian dates in the market, reflecting the role of research and knowledge in establishing and developing the sector.
Haddad linked the quality of Jordanian dates to the environment of the Jordan Valley, describing the area as ideal for palm cultivation. He highlighted its exceptionally low elevation and atmospheric conditions, which he said contribute to complete fruit ripening.
He also explained that environmental conditions affect the fruit’s flesh, taste, flavor, shape and color.
According to Haddad, the experience has shown that Jordan contains some of the world’s most suitable areas for growing Medjool dates, particularly in the Jordan Valley, where the unique environmental conditions contribute to fruit quality.
Technology and Modern Farming Practices
Haddad said most of the seedlings subsequently used in cultivation were tissue-culture plants imported from reliable sources. The sector has also relied on a dedicated Jordanian standard for dates and a national strategy for date palm cultivation covering 2020-2030.
Medjool and Barhi are the two main commercial varieties. Medjool dates are medium to large in size, brownish in color and sweet, while Barhi dates are large, yellow and highly sweet and can be consumed at the khalal or rutab stages.
Modern agricultural practices include advanced irrigation networks, irrigation and fertilization programs, crop protection measures, pollination techniques, fruit thinning and individual fruit selection, bagging, and the adoption of modern production and marketing technologies.
Processing facilities have also adopted modern packing and packaging machinery, while producers are obtaining quality certifications and applying international standards.
Haddad said digital applications are increasingly being introduced to manage farms. These include satellite systems, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) monitoring, aerial survey imagery, remote farm management, smart irrigation and fertilization systems, soil and leaf sensors, smart insect traps and pest-detection devices.
Artificial intelligence is currently being used in grading, sorting, packing and packaging, he added.
Labor accounts for around 70% of production costs, Haddad said, stressing that technological development could help reduce costs, improve product quality and increase efficiency across the sector.
He noted that date farmers have increasingly invested in the sector, with more than 90% of palm growers holding at least a bachelor's degree. The state has also provided affordable financing through the Agricultural Credit Corporation.
Challenges and Growth Opportunities
Haddad said more than 60% of date holdings in the Jordan Valley fall within the medium-sized category, while large farms exceeding 250 dunums account for only around 2% of holdings.
He also pointed to the significant expansion of palm cultivation in Wadi Araba, which is not yet included in these figures and involves newly cultivated areas relying on groundwater. The land has been leased under long-term agreements with the Jordan Valley Authority.
In terms of marketing, Haddad said quality, appearance, taste, packaging and price are the main factors influencing consumers’ date purchases, followed by health considerations, product origin and variety.
He stressed the importance of these factors amid growing global competition and increasing Medjool production in several parts of the world, where product characteristics vary according to environmental conditions.
He identified the sector’s main challenges as water availability and quality, the availability and cost of trained labor, pests and epidemic diseases, unplanned expansion, unstable agricultural policies, marketing difficulties and global competition.
At the same time, he highlighted opportunities arising from growing global demand for dates and organic products, increased awareness of their nutritional value, food security concerns, the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on quality, rapid technological advances, renewable and solar energy, as well as growing awareness of climate change and changing consumer preferences.
These factors, he said, are opening new opportunities for Jordan’s date production sector.
Omar Malhas, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Jordan Economic Forum, who moderated the session, said the date sector is one of Jordan’s promising industries, highlighting the country’s significant production of Medjool dates.
He said the session shed light on the sector’s development and current state, as well as the investment and export opportunities available to it and the challenges facing farmers and producers.
