Mexico Expands Date Exports With International Festival

Mexico is seeking to strengthen its date industry as it prepares to host the fifth International Date Palm Festival, scheduled for December 2026, in Baja California and Sonora. The event will promote scientific research, sustainable date cultivation, and trade with Middle Eastern and North African markets, as Mexico looks to position the crop as a high-value agricultural option for its arid northern regions.

Baja California and Sonora account for 80% of Mexico’s annual date production, which stands at about 70,000t. Their climate and soil conditions have supported the concentration of the country’s date industry in the north, particularly around San Luis Rio Colorado and Mexicali.

The festival is being organized through a memorandum of understanding signed virtually by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER) and the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation (KIADPAI). The organizing committee also includes the agriculture ministries of Sonora and Baja California, the municipalities of San Luis Rio Colorado and Mexicali, and the Universidad Estatal de Sonora (UES).

Miguel Ángel Manzanilla, Director General of Agricultural Production, SADER, says the United Arab Emirates has become an important partner for Mexico’s date industry. “The United Arab Emirates has become a strategic partner for technical cooperation, foreign trade and the international expansion of the Mexican date industry,” he adds.

Manzanilla says that the crop could support agricultural diversification in Mexico’s northern regions. “For the Ministry of Agriculture, this crop represents a viable option for productive reconversion in northern Mexico. It combines high commercial value with adaptability to desert environments, a long shelf life and significant export opportunities,” he adds.

Export Growth Strengthens Market Potential

Mexico’s date industry has expanded its international presence in recent years. Between 2021 and 2025, Mexico exported dates to more than 20 countries, including the United States, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates. In 2025, date exports exceeded US$63 million and totaled more than 14,700t. During the 1H26, external sales reached US$36.1 million, with exports of nearly 7,500t, according to official figures.

The export performance gives producers in northern Mexico an opportunity to diversify beyond the domestic market and expand into regions where dates have established consumer demand. Middle Eastern and North African markets are a particular focus of the cooperation between Mexico and the UAE-based KIADPAI.

SADER has identified date cultivation as a potential option for productive reconversion in northern Mexico, particularly because the crop can grow in arid environments. Date palms can tolerate high temperatures, aridity and low humidity, although commercial production requires water management and appropriate agricultural practices.

The crop’s ability to produce in desert environments is also relevant to Mexico’s efforts to adapt agricultural activities to changing climate conditions. Its commercial characteristics, including a relatively long shelf life, can facilitate transportation to distant markets and support export-oriented production.

Abdelouahhab Alboukhari Zaid, Secretary General, KIADPAI, said the objective of the festival “is to support the development of the date palm sector in Mexico,” while expressing interest in continuing the cooperation established through the memorandum. The initiative is also intended to strengthen technical capabilities, improve production standards, and connect Mexican producers with global value chains.