IDP&MC has branches in most Iraqi cities that are famous for palm cultivation, such as in Basra, Baghdad, Karbala and Diyala. Al-Monitor visited the company's branch in the Hay al-Jaza’er district of Babylon, where about 30 workers collect dates from peasants, then wrap, pack, manufacture and market the fruit.
“Molasses extracted from dates is the most important product of the company’s branch [in the Hay al-Jaza’er district]," said Haider Hassan, an IDP&MC technician. "The company stores dates in cylindrical containers made of wicker palm and measuring about 20 inches in diameter, and packs them. Pitted dates are squeezed into the container with an advanced piston,” he added.
Al-Monitor’s tour in the agricultural products market in the city of Karbala showed only canned dates from Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Saad al-Azari, a food trader in Karbala, told Al-Monitor, “Fresh Iraqi dates are directly bought from farmers who only sell them during the reaping period, namely in July, August and September. Such dates are consumed within a few days, but local canned dates remain scarce in the Iraqi market.”
He added, “Dates are stacked in stores and sports stadiums every year amid the absence of adequate opportunities to manufacture or export them.”
On the 20-mile agricultural road between the city of Hilla in Babylon province and western al-Hamza, travelers can see palm forests stretching along the Hilla River, a branch of the Euphrates River.
Along the same stretch, farmers present prospective customers with dozens of types of freshly picked dates. Al-Monitor spoke with dates merchant Hussein Sajet, who lives in Doulab, one of the villages along the road. "Some rare and desirable types of dates, such as the Barban and Derry dates, are directly transported to Baghdad and then to the [Persian] Gulf through merchants," Sajet said. "People there opt for these types, because they are fresh and maintain their shape and taste.”
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