Egypt's Siwa Oasis… world's top producer of dates

By Fiola Fahmy

CAIRO (AA) – One of Egypt's most isolated settlements, Siwa Oasis is considered the world's biggest producer of dates.

The oasis is situated in a depression at the northern edge of Egypt's Western Desert, 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the Egyptian border with Libya.

Siwa is famous for cultivating different kinds of palm dates.

"Dates are a strategic crop in Egypt," Gamal Seyam, a professor of agricultural economics at Cairo University, told Anadolu Agency.

He said Egypt is the world's biggest producer of dates.

"However, this production is not used for exports," he said. "This is because of the poor quality of dates, challenges facing exports and neglecting the development of the palm sector."

There are around 700,000 palms in Siwa oasis, which produce around 84,000 tons of dates annually.

The oasis is also a significant national olive producer with a total yearly output of 27,500 tons.

In October, Siwa was awarded the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Egypt produces 1.5 million tons of dates, accounting for 20 percent of the overall international produce.

FAO has recently launched a strategy for the development of palm dates in Egypt with the ministries of agriculture and industry.

An agreement was signed to finance the first project to implement the strategy with a view to improving and increasing the export competitiveness of Egyptian dates which will eventually increase export rates from 38,000 tons to 120,000 tons annually over the next five years.