Saudi Arabia and Alibaba collaborate to promote Saudi dates

Riyadh – A delegation from the National Palm and Date Center visited the headquarters of Alibaba Group Holding in China, with the aim of establishing a partnership to enable 23 Saudi date companies to use Alibaba’s e-commerce platform to sell Saudi dates in international markets.

During the visit to the forum, companies from Saudi Arabia and China were presented and a discussion on the revival of trade exchange was held. Additionally, agreements and memorandums of understanding were signed to strengthen Saudi date exports.

The working visit is part of cooperation between Saudi donation companies and Alibaba Group, following an agreement signed in Riyadh last December.

It is worth noting that over the last year there has been a remarkable increase in date exports from Saudi Arabia to China by 120%.

In the first quarter of 2024, the Kingdom exported dates worth SAR 644 million, an increase of 13.7% compared to the same period last year, when exports amounted to SAR 566 million.

Saudi Arabia exports dates to many countries; in some countries, such as Austria, Norway, Argentina, Brazil, Portugal, Germany and Canada, exports grow by more than 100%. Exports increased by 69% to Morocco, 61% to Indonesia, 41% to South Korea, 33% to the UK, 29% to the US and 16% to Malaysia.

Saudi Arabia has over 36 million palm trees and an annual production of dates exceeding 1.6 million tons, giving it a leading position in date exports.

The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture aims to improve the quality of agricultural products through the use of good agricultural practices and the adoption of quality standards in factories.