Desert Fruits technological improvements contribute to the high quality of dates exported to the Middle East
Desert Fruit Namibia managed to produce high quality Barhi dates which were recently exported to Abu-Dhabi, Dubai, Kuwait, Cambodia, Indonesia, Maldives, Singapore, UK and Switzerland as well as the royalty houses in the Emeritus.
Desert Fruit Namibia Farm Technical Manager, Charles Edmonds said that the harvest in 2018 was satisfactory.
“Although the 2018 tonnage was small, the quality was superbly high. We are proud of the harvest, as the technical advances that we made use of were not only experienced in the farming of the dates, but also in the packing and processing of the 2018 harvest. Our team has gained invaluable experience over the years and has been trained consistently to make the most of the harvest. Through great personal development and hard work, they have assisted us in achieving this bumper harvest,” Edmonds added.
Technological advances will be capitalised on even more in 2019 to allow a growth in tonnage to meet the market demand, he said.
Barhi is a unique date eaten in a fresh state before it is naturally dried. It is regarded as a delicacy in the Middle and Far East where it is more widely known. Desert Fruit Namibia produces three different varieties of dates which can be eaten fresh and these must therefore reach the target market and customer within a time-span of 72 hours.
According to Edmonds, most date connoisseurs let the unique yellow Barhi date dry halfway naturally to enjoy most of the sweet, crisp and caramel flavours. The trees start flowering in August and are harvested from late January through to March.
Meanwhile, Desert Fruit Namibia is one of only two farms in the Southern Africa which delivers fresh dates to the Northern Hemisphere market – out of season.
“This makes the company and Namibia special and unique and puts us on the world map – albeit in a smaller market,” added Charles.
Seth Holmes, Managing Director thanked all the Namibian partners involved especially the government agencies, including cross-border controls and AMTA for the great service which contributed towards the fact that the product reached the customer as fresh as possible.
Caption: Careful harvesting and packaging of the Barhi date takes place by hand at Desert Fruit Namibia. Numerous employees at Desert Fruit Namibia have been trained to harvest this product carefully to minimise damage and produce the best product.
