National Center for Palms and Dates

The National Center for Palms and Dates is a Saudi government body established by Royal Decree No. 42649 dated 29 Ramadan 1432 AH and linked to the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture. Its mandate is to develop and sustain the Kingdom's palm and dates sector. The Center builds an integrated system of agricultural, marketing and knowledge services and adopts modern technologies to raise production efficiency and increase consumption of Saudi dates at home and abroad. Its strategic pillars cover institutional capability, support and subsidies for the sector, quality of production among smallholder palm farmers, better agricultural and industrial practice, and growth in date exports. The Center oversees the seasonal date markets grouped under the Mawasim Tumurna programme across the Kingdom, among them the Buraydah Dates Carnival, the Unaizah International Dates Season, the Madinah Dates Season and the Al Mithnab Red Sukkari Season, and it launched the Seasonal Markets platform to govern trading and document transactions. It also publishes national reports and statistics on the sector and provides digital services to farmers, traders and factories, including date export certificates.