UAE: More than 50 varieties of dates on display at Al Dhaid Date Festival

The four-day event ends on July 24

As many as 50 varieties of dates are up on display at Al Dhaid Date Festival where farmers from all across the country have come under one roof to show their best produce.

Several owners of farms have also entered a competition where the best dates – in terms of quality and size – will be rewarded.

Hybrid dates as long as 3 inches in size and one-and-a-half inch in diameter were the highlights at the festival. Sadly, visitors were not able to purchase these varieties at the event, but these products are expected to enter the market soon.

Dates of different sizes from the size of a soyabean to an egg were also on the display at the event. “It takes a lot of effort to cultivate such dates,” said Dr Rashid Mazrooui, a researcher and a palm farming enthusiast.

“The hybrid dates are much more crispier and tastier,” said Dr Mazrooui, who has been into farming for the last 30 years.

Organised by Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), the 6th edition of the festival, themed - The Aroma of The Past... The Blossoming Present, will run until July 24 at the Expo Centre.

The inauguration ceremony took place in the presence of Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, chairman, SCCI, Sheikh Majid bin Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi, head of the Department of Suburbs and Villages Affairs in Sharjah, Mohammad Ahmed Amin Al Awadi, SCCI’s Director-General, and Mohamed Mosbeh Al Tunaiji, the festival's general coordinator.

Al Owais stressed that the UAE is one of the top 10 date-producing countries in the world as well as one of the major exporters of the fruit. “The UAE's date industry makes up about 30 per cent of all import and export activity in the nation's international trade,”

Hundreds of visitors flocked to the festival on the very first day to view the finest dates. Some of them also purchased local handicrafts made from palm fronds.