Date Palm Status and Perspective in Egypt

Cultivation of date palms in Egypt goes back thousands of years. The date palm tree has great socioeconomic importance and nutritional value in Egypt. Its traditional use as a primary source of food and by-products and its ecological benefits in oasis agriculture make it an important fruit tree and the best crop to be cultivated. Egypt is the most productive country of date palm fruit in the world. There is a high potential for increasing the production area of date palm to fulfill local consumption in the whole country and to produce date fruits for export purposes. Presently, the Egyptian Government and private sector are convinced of the potential of date production and are striving to establish commercial date plantations and promote viable date production. Despite its important roles in Egyptian agriculture and the efforts made, date palm cultivation, production, processing, and marketing are still beleaguered with several problems. The low quality of cultivars, poor farm management, pests and diseases, marketing obstacles, and insufficient applicable research are the major constraints of the date palm in Egypt. Moreover, inconsistent quality in combination with low-grade packaging provides a considerable challenge for Egyptian date producers to fill the unmet domestic and international demand. By contrast, an abundance of capable manpower and arable land, low labor costs as well as the wide range of date palm diversity are among the most important competitive factors. This chapter discusses the current status, constraints, and the available avenues that can be used to develop the date palm industry in Egypt.