Egypt is the number one producer of dates in the world, ahead of Iran and Saudi Arabia, the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said. The annual production is estimated at 1.5 million tonnes, equivalent to 17.7 percent of world production estimated at 7.5 million tonnes. Egypt's annual production is estimated at 1.5 million tons, equivalent to 17.7 percent of world production totaling 7.5 million tons. As part of a technical cooperation project for the development of the value chain for dates, FAO said that a new training program for date producers has been completed in Egypt's Siwa, al-Wahat al-Bahareya and the New Valley. The project agreement was signed with Egyptian ministries of agriculture, industry, and trade and was launched during the Second Dates Festival in Siwa last year, in coordination with the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). "After the great response to the development strategy of the palm and date sector from the competent Egyptian authorities, the scope of the plan was expanded to include other dates production areas, " FAO Representative in Egypt Hussein Gadain said in a statement. He added that "al-Wahat al-Bahariya and the New Valley have joined the project in addition to the Siwa Oasis in coordination and cooperation with all parties and agencies to promote the date palm and dates in Egypt," Gadain stressed that the objectives of the development strategy for Egypt's dates sector include increasing the country's exports from 38,000 tons to 120,000 tons annually during the next five years as well as raising the average export price from $1,000 per ton to $1,500 during the same period. He explained that these improvements would lead to increasing Egypt's foreign currency reserves and creating new job opportunities for Egyptians. Source: al-Masry al-Youm
