Riyadh to host Saudi's international date fruit exhibition

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia's National Centre for Palms and Dates (NCPD) will organise the second edition of the International Exhibition for Dates in the capital on Thursday. The event will be attended by farmers and representatives from the dates industry, Arab News reported.

The first instalment of the fest was hosted by the Qassim province of the Kingdom. It was then staged as part of the annual Buraidah Date Festival. The nutritional values of the fruit and its importance in children's diet were under discussion during the event. Experts reviewed reports from dates importing countries and consumer behaviour in order to expand the business in the global market.

Meanwhile, the Kingdom's business on dates fruit exports grew by 7.1 per cent in the last year to reach 247 million dollars, thanks to NCPD. In terms of volume of shipping, a 17 per cent increase occurred as the shipments during the period touched 2,15,000 tons.

Saudi Arabia is the world's largest exporter of dates as it sells the fruit to 107 places internationally. The nation is also one of the largest producers of the fruit and has assets of 33 million palm trees and 157 processing establishments.