The date harvest in Tunisia has begun this week. In contrast to other crops suffering from a year of drought, the date sector is doing well and production has even increased compared to last season. Mohamed Akermi, CEO of Tunileaf, reports on the season start.
Akermi told FreshPlaza, "Everything went well in terms of production, we had less heat and were able to ensure sufficient irrigation, resulting in a better yield than last year. The quality is very good, especially for premium dates. At the Tunisian level, official estimates from the Ministry of Agriculture amount to 390 thousand tonnes produced this season, compared with 340 thousand tonnes last season. Deglet Nour remains the leading Tunisian date with 328 thousand tons this season."
Exports will start straight away, adds Akermi. "At Tunileaf, our calendars start on November 4. We have already received orders from our regular customers for 50% of our volumes. These orders are from Germany, Belgium, UAE and Morocco. We are open to all requests for the remaining half. Tunisian dates are in demand all over the world, especially in Europe, North Africa, Gulf countries, Indonesia and Malaysia. At Tunileaf, we prefer to do business with countries geographically close to us, in the Gulf countries, Europe, or Morocco, to reduce costs and ensure that our dates arrive as fresh as possible."
Deglet Nour will be available in three qualities, adds Akermi."There will be the first choice branch, called Arjoun, which we strongly recommend to sources of good quality dates. Then there's an intermediate quality, called Standard, and finally Ravier dates, for those who prefer dry dates. We have stocks of all these qualities ready to order."
As for prices, "they will remain at a controlled level," says Akermi. "The authorities, in agreement with producers, are setting a reference price for each of the three qualities. Tunisian date prices remain very competitive on the international market."
For more information:
Akermi Mohamed
TuniLeaf
Tel: +21654559332
Email: [email protected]