Iraq to expand palms cultivation to face dust storms

Baghdad-INA

The Ministry of Agriculture called on the private sector to upgrade the process of exporting dates in terms of packaging and manufacturing, while announcing its intention to expand in palm groves to face dust storms and stabilize sand dunes.

The ministry's advisor, Mahdi Al-Qaisi, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): "The documented Iraqi varieties of dates amount to about 625 varieties, some of which are commercial and others industrial and dual-purpose, that is, for manufacturing and food consumption, and the ministry does not have a problem with the number of varieties, but there is a problem with how to invest Exploiting these items for export purposes, through packaging at a level commensurate with the importance of dates and their nutritional and economic value.

Al-Qaisi added, "The private sector is responsible for that, and even the ascetic dates, which constitute about 70 percent of Iraqi dates, are supposed to improve their export, manufacture, and benefit from them in manufacturing, such as extracting liquid sugar, industrial materials, and other uses that are used as substitutes for sugar in many confectionery industries.".

He continued: "Iraqi dates did not take their role in the manufacturing process or in the marketing process, to raise their economic value and their usefulness in terms of supporting the economy of our country, but our merchants resort, very unfortunately, to exporting dates without packaging, and this is a problem facing Iraqi dates, but the Ministry of Agriculture is not responsible for it, but it is the responsibility of the private sector, which should improve the productivity and export of dates.”