Our premium and fresh fair traded medjoul dates are brought to you by small scale medjoul dates farmers in Jericho and Jordan Valley. Jericho and Jordan valley area is the best place to grow medjoul dates due to the very high temperature and low humidity. Know more about medjoul dates and farmers here: http://alreeffairtrade.ps/sites/default/files/newsletters/october_newsletter_2016.pdf
Medjoul dates are widely considered as the best variety of dates. They are the largest in size and the richest in taste according to many consumers. There wrinkled yet soft texture, rich moist and the juicy sweet taste make medjoul dates an everyday must-have food. In addition, they are full of minerals, fiber and vitamins and provide an alternative natural sweetener for sugar.
Medjoul date trees were first planted in Palestine in 1997 when PARC (Agricultural Development Association) distributed medjoul dates seedlings to farmers in Jericho. The Palestinian date sector was very weak and it didn’t include the medjoul date variety, which is the finest kind of dates.
The supervision staff in the Fair Trade Department takes regular visits to the palm farms in order to consult the farmers on the best way to pick dates and prepare the product, before it is to be sent to the filling station in Jericho city. The farmers later undertake a process of initial sorting for dates where they dispose of ruined or immature fruits and send the product to the filling station in Jericho in plastic boxes. An additional process of sorting is also made in the station where the dates with appropriate humidity level go to the processing while the dates with inappropriate level of humidity are dried until they reach the suitable level.
The last step is to sort the dates into two classes (A&B) and keep them in refrigerators under 4 Celsius degrees after they get packaged according to different sizes (500 gm, 1 kg and 5 kg).
