Iranian Dates Fruits
Dates / Date
Sair (Sayer) Dates
Piarom
Date
Zahedi
Dates
Industrial
Date
Rabby
Dates
Kabkab
Date
Choped
Dates
Pitted
Block Dates
Vaccumed Dates in Cello Packs
Pitted Dates in Cello Packs
 Date / Dates
Similar to milk, honey and grapes, dates are considered a complete diet and a very important item of food. With plenty of vitamins and minerals, date have 25% more potassium than bananas while being free of fats, sodium, and cholesterol. Dates play an important role in the diet and treatment of obesity and are the most important source of energy and food in date producing areas.
The most exquisite species of dates are produced in Iran. The fruit has a large variety and more than 400 varieties of the fruit, some of which acclaimed worldwide, are produced in the southern, southwestern, and southeastern palm groves of Iran. There exists a good opportunity and a large potential for trade in this commodity in Iran. Due to climatic restrictions and the tropical nature of the date palm, dates are produced in 14 provinces of Iran together with Ghasre Shirin and Soumar in Kermanshah province, Tabas in the southern Khorassan province, Khor and Biabanak in Isfahan province, Taroud in Semnan province and extending from central to southern Iran.
In the year 1997, about 230 thousand hectares of land were under date palm cultivation, 83.6 percent of which are productive. Hormozgan province, with a date productivity rate of 29.7 %, ranks first in the country followed by the provinces of Kerman, Khouzestan, Boushehr, and Fars, having a productivity rate of 18.8, 16.2, 11.8, and 11.6 percentage respectively. The production of dates from 192 hectares of palm groves in the country is approximately 877 tons with Kerman province (including Jiroft area) having the highest production share of 22.7 percent. Iran is the largest producer and exporter of dates in the world with exports of 51.2 and 59.3 thousand tons in the years 1996 and 1997 respectively.
Date processing includes several stages such as:
Separation of crown of the seeds, cleaning, drying, moisturizing, polishing, sterilization, pressing, cooling, grading, and packing.
Date Products
- Diced Dates or chopped dates : a mixture of Soya flour and /or dextrose and dates;
- Date Paste - preparation of date paste for use in the production of sweets, cerelac etc.;
- High-Fiber Fruit - addition of edible fibers to dates for the production of certain diet foods and medicines.
Dates are great for snacking and baking.
Pitted Dates are ideal for snacking right from the package, or cut up to be used in cookies, cakes, muffins and breads. Stir dates into stuffing's, side dishes or rice dishes for an added new twist.
History
As far back as 4000 years B.C. dates were already appreciated and commercially cultivated in what is known to day as southern Iraq. In the Old World, the near East and Africa are the regions where dates are grown in large quantities.
Botanical name of the date palm
The botanical name of the date palm, Phoenix dacty lifera L. is presumably derived from a Phoenician"Phoenix" which means date palm, and "dacty lifera" derived from a Greek word "daktulos" meaning a finger.
Productions
The main producing country in the world are Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, U.A.R., Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Tunisia, USA, and in small quantities in Spain, Mexico, Yemen, Israel.
Date fruit production in Iran
In recent years Iran has been a is a leading dates fruit producer in the world with an annual production of 900000 metric tons from 218000 ha of cultivated Land.
Date palms grown mainly in South, South East, and South West of the country, and with less important in central of Iran.
The main producing areas in Iran are :
- Hormozgan 21.6%,
- Khusistan 17.6%,
- Bushehr 13.4%,
- Beluchistan 12.2%,
- Fars 12.3%
- Kerman 21.1%
Commercially important Varieties in Iran
There are about 400 varieties known in Iran, but only few of them are commercially important.
The main varieties and their specifications are as followed :
| Name |
maturity |
shape |
color |
sugar content |
| Barhi |
Sept. |
Round |
Yellow |
75% |
| Ferssi |
Sept. |
Thin |
Dark Brown |
70% |
| Gantar |
Oct. |
Thin |
Brown |
70% |
| Sayer |
Sept. |
Long |
Brown |
70% |
| Khazravi |
Sept. |
Thin |
Brown |
70% |
| Zahedi |
Oct. |
Short and Thick |
Light Brown |
65% |
| Dayri |
Oct. |
Long |
Brown to Red |
75% |
| Hallavi |
Sept. |
Thick |
Light Brown |
75% |
| Mazafati |
Sept. |
Thick |
Black |
----- |
| Kabkab |
Sept. |
Thick |
Brown to Dark Brown |
----- |
| Piarom |
Oct. |
Long |
Black |
80% |
| Rabbi |
Oct. |
Long |
Black |
80% |
Harvesting and Storage
In Iran dates are harvested only per hand, the traditional orchards dose not permits any kind of mechanization for harvesting. The Fruits are harvested, graded and packed in the Orchard,then transported to the cold storage. In recent years there are rapid development in constructing of cold storage's. There are more and less still traditional stores for keeping dates, with high losses therefore our aim is to industrialize dates harvesting, packaging and disinfest.
Year Export value by metric tons
1991 - 57774
1992 - 90617
1993 - 109119
1994 - 134508
1995 - 69927
1996 - 61558
1997 - 59227
1998 - 73582
1999 - 72847
2000 - 86634
2001 - 67208
Sair (Sayer) Date
Iranian
Sayer dates are semi-dry with a moisture content under 16%. They are usually harvested in October and have a dark brown color. They have a shelf life of approximately 18 months at room temperature. The The Iranian
Sayer Date is available in grades GAQ, FAQ and industrial as whole dates, in pitted or non-pitted forms, and are also available as
chopped date, that are either non-coated or they may be rolled in dextrose or rice flour.
A.
Sayer Date available as Pitted or Un-pitted
1 - Super Select maximum 70 pieces/lb.
2 - Select Grade A maximum 75 pieces/lb.
3 - Select Grade B maximum 85 pieces/lb.
4 - GAQ maximum 115 pieces/lb.
5 - FAQ (smaller sizes, no specific count/lb.)
6 - Industrial (no specific count/lb.)
Piarom Dates
Zahedi Date
Iranian
Zahedi Dates are dry with a moisture content under 14%. They are usually harvested in October and are a yellow gold color. They have a shelf life of approximately 18 months at room temperature.
Industrial Dates
Rabby Date
Kabkab Date
Chopped Dates
Diced Date or chopped dates : a mixture of Soya flour and /or dextrose and date;
F.
Chopped Dates (all types) in the following sizes:
1 - 8 to 12 mm per piece
2 - sliced at length Rolled in either Rice Flour or Dextrose at customer's option
Chopped Dates are lightly coated with a light dextrose coating to reduce stickiness.
Chopped Dates are great to top hot or cold cereals, combine with nuts and other dried fruits to prepare a trail mix, and stir into cookies, cakes, muffins and breads.
Pitted Block Dates
Vacuumed Dates in Cello Packs
Pitted Dates in Cello Packs
For an Inquiry Please Click Here.
Related articles to Date Fruits :
Iranian Date Dates and Its Market in the World
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