Consumers can find dates throughout the year, as they are carefully packaged. Demand, however, increases in different moments, especially during Ramadan. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, when Muslims fast. "Muslims break their fast by eating dates and drinking milk before praying," stated Shaleen Heffrnan, from Gargiulo Produce.
This fruit is only harvested once a year and must be carefully packaged for conservation so that there is enough production to cover the 12 months.
The average price per kilo is 3.50 euro throughout most of the year, so it is a very stable product.
"In our case, we have sufficient volume to meet the demand of all the US, but we also export to Europe and we are trying to open the market in South America," said Heffernan. The quantity exported to each destination is around 200 tons approximately, although they can't exactly provide the total volume available as "it changes every year depending on weather conditions."
"We have many competitors, but each of them packs the fruits and treats them differently," Heffernan said. This company considers it important to "take care of the harvesting, packaging, and the integrity of the fruit to be able to offer them in a good condition."
For more information:
Shaleen Heffernan
Gargiulo Produce
Telf.: +1 917 416 3768