In Algeria, the date harvest has recently started. And so the Eden Fruits company, the European subsidiary of Ziban Garden, is currently importing up to 8 containers per week. Working out of Kehl am Rhein, right on the French border, they are also responsible for importing, certifying and procuring packaging materials. "Since our organic certification came through at the beginning of the year, the demand for organic dates has risen sharply," says Ms. Kunz, who manages the European side of business from Germany. Quality control plays a big role for Eden Fruits: "Customers want to know what's in it and what's on it - so the customers themselves regularly carry out spot checks."
But organic dates are not the only segment that is growing: the US has plenty of demand for dates for processing. Although these are not organic, exporting to the United States is not always an easy task, says Ms. Kunz: "There are strict guidelines from the USDA, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). "But the IFS Broker certification (Eden Fruits) and the IFS GM Food certification (ZibanGarden) are not only benefiting the company when operating overseas, as the European supermarket chains are also increasingly insisting on these certificates."
Production and conditioning
The managing director of ZibanGarden, Mohamed Ali Benghezal, sources the dates from growers in Biskra, Algeria. After that, the desert fruits are washed, dried and placed by hand in their packaging at ZibanGarden. The packaging material itself comes mostly from Germany, the labels are printed in Algeria. The type of packaging demanded by the supermarkets has seen a trend in recent years.
Ms. Kunz: "In the old days the dates were usually packed in styrofoam shells, today wood pulp punnets are preferred. They are better suited to the natural aesthetics of the product and we are seeing an increase in demand for so-called DOY packs." The most popular packaging size at present are the 200g wooden punnets in shrink wrap. Packaging material, size and the popularity of organic products are linked to the trends towards healthy, natural nutrition, convenience and sustainability of the food industry.
Left: Mohammed Ali Benghezal, Managing Director
and Messaoud Bousnina, sales at the Biofach, Nuremberg 2018
A look into the future
The date growing in Israel is growing fast, but they are not a direct competitor for Algerian dates: "In Israel, the Medjoul variety is grown more often, while it is the Deglet Nour in Algeria. Medjoul dates are larger and above all expensive but less sweet, due to the extremely high temperatures of course, in Algerian regions our fruits are sweeter and do not have to be mixed with glucose."
Shots from the production site in Biskra, Algeria.
Although dates are becoming more and more important to Central Europeans and are no longer a pure product of ethnic cuisine, there is still a lot of potential on the market: "The product is very versatile and can be processed in the form of, for example, powder or paste. In the US, dates are often found in cereals, protein and energy bars - a trend that has been slow to catch on in Germany and Europe."
Nevertheless, the demand for dates at Eden Fruits has increased by 50% in the last two years alone. "At Christmas time there will be another increase in demand for processed product - dates filled with nuts, chocolate or other delicacies, are are always particularly popular around the world."
For more information:
Fr. Kunz
Eden Fruits GmbH
+49 (0) 7851 / 63 67 167
info@edenfruits.de
https://www.edenfruits.de/
Mohamed Ali Benghezal
ZibanGarden
+213 (0) 5 60 94 02 03
socodat@yahoo.fr
https://www.zibangarden.com/en/