A partnership between Saudi Arabia and Alibaba for marketing Saudi Dates

A delegation from the National Center for Palms and Dates visited Alibaba Group Holding’s headquarters in China. The visit aimed to establish a commercial partnership enabling 23 Saudi date companies to utilize Alibaba’s e-commerce platform for marketing Saudi dates and their products in international markets.

During the visit, a forum showcased companies from Saudi Arabia and China, fostering sessions to boost trade exchanges. Additionally, agreements and memorandums of understanding were signed to bolster Saudi’s date exports. The working visit is part of the collaboration between Saudi date companies and the Alibaba Group, following the agreement signed in Riyadh last December. Notably, there was a remarkable 120% increase in Saudi’s date exports to China over the past year.

The Saudi’s date exports reached 644 million riyals in the first quarter of 2024, marking a 13.7% rise compared to the corresponding period last year, where exports amounted to 566 million riyals. Saudi Arabia’s date exports extended to numerous countries, with exports to several nations surpassing 100%. Examples include Austria, Norway, Argentina, Brazil, Portugal, Germany, and Canada. Additionally, exports increased by 69% to Morocco, 61% to Indonesia, 41% to South Korea, 33% to the United Kingdom, 29% to the United States, and 16% to Malaysia.

Saudi Arabia has over 36 million palm trees and an annual date production exceeding 1.6 million tons, securing the top rank in date exports. The Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture seeks to improve farm production quality by applying good agricultural practices and adopting quality standards in factories.