Bahrain Dates Make Up 24pc of Farm Output

TDT | Manama

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The dates industry remains one of Bahrain’s main farm trades, with output holding at 14,000 tonnes a year for the past three years, making up about 24 pc of the kingdom’s farm yield in 2024, ministry figures show.

The crop has kept its place despite shrinking farmland, water strain, higher running costs and growers' calls for more workers, better plant care and stronger routes to market.

Bahrain, long known as the ‘land of a million palm trees’, produced 14,000 tonnes of dates in each of 2022, 2023 and 2024, according to figures from the Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture.

The figures point to slow growth, but also show how far dates remain rooted in Bahrain’s farm economy, food trade and village life.

People in the trade say Bahrain could draw greater worth from the crop through better sorting, packing, sale points and food manufacturing.

Factories use machines to sort dates by size, separating small, medium and large fruit. Dates that fall short of sale grade can be turned into paste for sweets and other food goods.

Saudi Arabia is seen in the Gulf as one of the leading countries in date manufacturing, with larger plants and many goods made from the fruit. Traders say Bahrain has scope to grow its own date trade, given the crop’s link with local life and the demand that still surrounds it.

Humidity remains one of the main strains on Bahraini dates, chiefly khalas and rutab. When moisture rises, the fruit can darken, with possible effects on quality and acidity.

Growers and traders say the sector needs wider palm planting, better care for farms, more workers and greater support for food businesses that use dates.

The crop is no longer sold only for eating as fruit. Dates are used in chocolate, nuts, paste, dibs, sweets and coffee made from date pits.

Most sales are still centred on the central market. Traders say Bahrain needs a market for dates alone, giving local produce clearer space for display and sale, while offering farmers, merchants and shoppers a more orderly place to trade.

Date syrup is made by drawing out the fruit’s contents through newer methods used in a number of Gulf markets. Date paste, often made from smaller fruit after machine treatment, is used in maamoul and other sweets.

Date-pit coffee is also beginning to reach shop shelves. It is made by grinding and treating the seed to produce a drink with its own taste, giving date makers another way to raise the worth of the crop.