Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07AMMAN3910
2007-09-23 04:53:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Amman
Cable title:
JORDAN'S GROWING DATE PALM INDUSTRY INCREASES REVENUES AND
how-toVZCZCXYZ0007 RR RUEHWEB DE RUEHAM #3910 2660453 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 230453Z SEP 07 FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0371 RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC INFO RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 3371 RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 1836 RUEHJI/AMCONSUL JEDDAH 0784 RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 3698 RUEHKU/AMEMBASSY KUWAIT 0804 RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 0772 RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 4616 RUEHMK/AMEMBASSY MANAMA 0635
UNCLAS AMMAN 003910
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR NEA/ELA
STATE PASS USAID
FAS FOR OFFICE OF GLOBAL ANALYSIS
FAS FOR OFFICE OF TRADE PROGRAMS
CAIRO FOR AGMINCOUN PKURZ
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAGR ETRD SENV JO
SUBJECT: JORDAN'S GROWING DATE PALM INDUSTRY INCREASES REVENUES AND
CONSERVES WATER
UNCLAS AMMAN 003910
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR NEA/ELA
STATE PASS USAID
FAS FOR OFFICE OF GLOBAL ANALYSIS
FAS FOR OFFICE OF TRADE PROGRAMS
CAIRO FOR AGMINCOUN PKURZ
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAGR ETRD SENV JO
SUBJECT: JORDAN'S GROWING DATE PALM INDUSTRY INCREASES REVENUES AND
CONSERVES WATER
1. (U) Since the mid-1990's, Jordan's Ministry of Agriculture (MOA)
has encouraged Jordan Valley farmers to substitute conventional
farming crops and methods with new cash crops that use water more
efficiently, are environmentally friendly, and reap greater profits.
This policy has paid off with the expansion of date palm farming
from just a few hectares to 2,000 hectares in 2006. Recent trade
data shows that Jordanian date production increased from 400 tons in
1998 to 26,000 tons in 2006. During the same period, date exports
grew from 92 tons to 22,000 tons. The main export destinations for
Jordanian dates are European and Arabian Gulf markets, where the
price of some varieties of the Madjool date exceed USD 40 per kilo.
2. (U) In mid-September, Minister of Industry and Trade Salim
Khaza'aleh inaugurated the third palm date exhibition, emphasizing
GOJ interest in this water-friendly line of agriculture. Jordan is
one of driest countries in the world, a fact that has challenged
both the government and the private sector as they explore the best
ways to utilize water efficiently in agriculture, Jordan's highest
and most wasteful consumer of water. Palm orchards are considered
the best alternative to high water consuming crops like bananas.
Not only do they consume less water, but they also tolerate poorer
qualities of water such as those increasingly produced from urban
wastewater treatment plants which are expected to be the only source
of agricultural irrigation in the near future. NOTE: USAID has
invested significantly in improving water resources and water supply
in Jordan. The Kafa'a project for improving water efficiency in
agriculture assisted in the establishment of a date palm nursery in
the Jordan Valley to provide low-cost offshoots to farmers and train
them in date palm cultivation techniques. END NOTE. Additionally,
dates are cultivated in the Jordan Valley which, situated below sea
level, serves as a natural greenhouse whose deep soils and
frost-free environment provide an ideal growing climate.
3. (U) Palm date production in Jordan has increased tremendously
during the last decade, and farming acreage is predicted to expand
more than 300 percent within the coming year. Farmers use cutting
edge technologies such as tissue culture to establish and reproduce
palm trees. Many of Jordan's most popular date varieties are of
U.S. origin, specifically Californian dates. The Amman FAS office
has recently received an official request from the Jordanian Date
Producers and Marketing Association for assistance in facilitating
and organizing a study tour to expose them to their American
counterparts, including producers and suppliers. The FAS office is
working on this request.
Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman
Hale
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR NEA/ELA
STATE PASS USAID
FAS FOR OFFICE OF GLOBAL ANALYSIS
FAS FOR OFFICE OF TRADE PROGRAMS
CAIRO FOR AGMINCOUN PKURZ
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAGR ETRD SENV JO
SUBJECT: JORDAN'S GROWING DATE PALM INDUSTRY INCREASES REVENUES AND
CONSERVES WATER
1. (U) Since the mid-1990's, Jordan's Ministry of Agriculture (MOA)
has encouraged Jordan Valley farmers to substitute conventional
farming crops and methods with new cash crops that use water more
efficiently, are environmentally friendly, and reap greater profits.
This policy has paid off with the expansion of date palm farming
from just a few hectares to 2,000 hectares in 2006. Recent trade
data shows that Jordanian date production increased from 400 tons in
1998 to 26,000 tons in 2006. During the same period, date exports
grew from 92 tons to 22,000 tons. The main export destinations for
Jordanian dates are European and Arabian Gulf markets, where the
price of some varieties of the Madjool date exceed USD 40 per kilo.
2. (U) In mid-September, Minister of Industry and Trade Salim
Khaza'aleh inaugurated the third palm date exhibition, emphasizing
GOJ interest in this water-friendly line of agriculture. Jordan is
one of driest countries in the world, a fact that has challenged
both the government and the private sector as they explore the best
ways to utilize water efficiently in agriculture, Jordan's highest
and most wasteful consumer of water. Palm orchards are considered
the best alternative to high water consuming crops like bananas.
Not only do they consume less water, but they also tolerate poorer
qualities of water such as those increasingly produced from urban
wastewater treatment plants which are expected to be the only source
of agricultural irrigation in the near future. NOTE: USAID has
invested significantly in improving water resources and water supply
in Jordan. The Kafa'a project for improving water efficiency in
agriculture assisted in the establishment of a date palm nursery in
the Jordan Valley to provide low-cost offshoots to farmers and train
them in date palm cultivation techniques. END NOTE. Additionally,
dates are cultivated in the Jordan Valley which, situated below sea
level, serves as a natural greenhouse whose deep soils and
frost-free environment provide an ideal growing climate.
3. (U) Palm date production in Jordan has increased tremendously
during the last decade, and farming acreage is predicted to expand
more than 300 percent within the coming year. Farmers use cutting
edge technologies such as tissue culture to establish and reproduce
palm trees. Many of Jordan's most popular date varieties are of
U.S. origin, specifically Californian dates. The Amman FAS office
has recently received an official request from the Jordanian Date
Producers and Marketing Association for assistance in facilitating
and organizing a study tour to expose them to their American
counterparts, including producers and suppliers. The FAS office is
working on this request.
Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman
Hale