Overview

The common date (Phoenix dactylifera) is believed to have originated in the Arabian Gulf between the Nile and Euphrates rivers. Nomads planted dates in the desert, and Arabs introduced them to Spain. Ever since, they have been grown on the French Riviera, south Italy, Greece and Sicily. As of 2005, the major date-producing countries were (in order): Egypt, Saudia Arabia, Iran, United Arab Emirates and Pakistan.

California was the first state to plant seedling dates after Spanish explorers introduced dates to Mexico. In 1890, the first offshoots reached California from Egypt, and Arizona started to grow dates in Phoenix and Tempe. California and Arizona now lead the nation in date production.

In 2006 commercial production of dates in the United States totaled 40 thousand pounds, the largest since 2002. The number of acres planted to date palms, nearly 6 thousand, has also been increasing since 2002. However, per person consumption of dates in the United States has not increased. Of the dried fruits, date consumption per person is only 0.14 pounds, following (in order) raisins and prunes.  July 2008 . . . Dates

Marketing

• Domestic Dates Produced or Packed In Riverside County, California, Marketing Orders, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), USDA.
• Dried Fruit Association (DFA) - A nonprofit organization representing the collective interest of the dried fruit and tree nut industry from grower to consumer. Its membership includes cooperatives, independent packers and grower packers. The site has files relating to quality standards, worker-safety issues, and food and plan biosecurity.
• Fruit and Tree Nuts Situation and Outlook Yearbook, ERS, USDA, 2007.
• The Marketing Potential of Date Palm Fruits in the European Market, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 2002.
• Noncitrus Fruits and Nuts 2007, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), USDA, January 2008 - Provides such stats as dried date production, average price for dried and fresh dates and domestic consumption.
• United States Standards for Grades of Dates, AMS, USDA, 1955.

Production

• Cal Sungold Inc - The largest independent date producer, annually producing, processing and marketing six million pounds of Deglet Noor and Medjool dates.
• Date, Fruits of Warm Climates, New Foods, Purdue University, 1987.
• Date, University of Georgia, 2004.
• Date Palm Products, FAO Ag Services, United Nations, 1993. 
• The Date, Phoenix Dactylifera, University of California, Davis, 2002.
• Dates: A Fruit of Promise for the Food Industry, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman.
• Imported and American Varieties of Dates in the United States, University of California, Davis, 2007, $25 - This book is the first comprehensive account of all varieties of dates and the date palm industry in the United States. While written with the California and Arizona commercial grower in mind, growers and palm enthusiasts worldwide will find this an invaluable reference.

Links checked February 2008.