How Many Dates Are Produced in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia?

In 2020, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's production of dates reached 1.5 million t, with a self-sufficiency rate of 125 percent. According to the annual report of the National Center for Palms and Dates in 2020, the Kingdom ranked second in the world in dates production with 17 percent of the total global production. On the other hand, more than 1.7 million palm trees received the Saudi Dates Mark, equivalent to 5 percent of the total number of palm trees in the Kingdom, which exceeds thirty-one million palm trees. The number of factories affiliated with the Saudi Date Mark reached forty-two, with production exceeding 432,720 t of dates. The number of farms affiliated with the Saudi Dates Mark reached forty-one, thirty-two of which were classified under the intensive farming category, and nine under the organic farm category.

The palm and dates sector in the Kingdom represents 12 percent of the total national agricultural output, which is about SAR7.5 billion, and its share of the non-oil Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is 0.4 percent. In 2021, according to the World Trade Center, the Kingdom ranked first globally in terms of exporting dates, as total dates exports amounted to SAR1.215 billion, and Saudi dates reached 113 countries.