Production and exports in 2024
According to the National Center for Palms and Dates, citing the General Authority for Statistics, Saudi date exports in 2024 were worth about SAR 1.695 billion, up 15.9% on 2023, and reached 133 countries; production exceeded 1.9 million tonnes.
Between 2016, the year Vision 2030 was launched, and 2024, the value of exports rose by 192.5%, an average annual growth of 12.7%.
Earlier years
In 2020 the Kingdom ranked second in the world for date production, with 17% of global output. In 2021 it ranked first in the world for the value of date exports, according to the International Trade Centre's Trade Map: SAR 1.215 billion, up 13%, the highest annual growth in five years, reaching 113 countries.
In 2022 production reached 1.6 million tonnes, and exports of dates and date products exceeded 321,000 tonnes worth SAR 1.28 billion, up 5.4% on 2021, reaching 116 countries.
The Saudi Dates Mark
The National Center for Palms and Dates grants registered trademarks to dates so they meet the requirements of global markets. In 2020 more than 1.7 million palms held the Saudi Dates Mark, and 42 factories operating under it produced more than 432,720 tonnes of dates. In 2022 the mark covered 41 farms: 32 intensive and 9 organic.
Date factories
Al-Ahsa Governorate has more date factories than anywhere else in the Kingdom, over 30 of them.
Dates at the table
Dates are among the Kingdom's best-known crops, and dates and water are the first things eaten at iftar in Ramadan. Dates go into many northern dishes, including haneeny, raghfan and maqshoush, and Qassim is known for date dishes such as klija, haneeny and qishd. Maqshoush is the Kingdom's national dessert, optionally sweetened with date syrup.