Dates: heavy rainfall causes damage

Mundus -Agri: Heavy rainfall in the Iranian growing regions has caused crop damage in the date groves. Market players are now criticising the insurance companies, which by no means cover all damages.

Humidity causes dates to mould. 

Heavy rains have caused damage in some Iranian growing regions such as Bushehr, Khuzestan and Kerman; many dates have fallen from the palms in the groves there and become sour. As the rainfall is still continuing, it is not yet possible to estimate the full extent of the damage. However, Kerman is likely to have escaped more lightly than the cultivation provinces in the mountain regions. Growers in Iran report that not only the falling dates lead to crop damage, but that the increased humidity caused by the rain also plays a decisive role. It makes the dates sour and mouldy. Some farmers are now suspending the harvest for the time being in the hope that the moisture content of their fruit will decrease again with the end of the rains.

Iranian market players, meanwhile, criticise the way insurance is handled in the agricultural sector. They report that there is no coordination between the amount of damage and the compensation payments, so that farmers are often only paid a fraction of their loss. Added to this are the massive increases in operating costs.

Moisture affects quality

The current floods are not expected to have a significant impact on the date market, as traders indicate that this year's production was supposed to be 10% higher than last year's, so that the higher crop volume should compensate for the loss. However, quality is affected, especially for Mazafati and Piarom dates. According to market players, the remaining stocks of the old crop are not worth mentioning and will be sold on the domestic market in the coming weeks.

Export prices for Iranian dates have declined over the past two weeks. The start of the harvest and an increase in supply are putting pressure on prices.