The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) announced that the seventh edition of the “Al Dhaid Date Festival 2023″will be launched on July 27 at the Expo Al Dhaid.

Hundreds of palm farmers are expected to attend the four-day festival that will continue until the 30th of the same month.

This was unveiled during a press conference held today, July 11, atExpo Al Dhaid, where His Excellency Mohammed Ahmed Amin Al-Awadi, SCCI Director General; and Messrs. Saeed Rashid bin Fadel Al Ketbi, Director of Al Wusta Channel;Mohammed Musabah Al Tunaiji, the Festival General Coordinator; and Rashid Muhair Al Ketbi, Chairman of the Assortment and Evaluation Committee;spoke in the presence of Abdelaziz Shattaf, SCCI Assistant Director General for Business and Communication Sector;Khalil Al Mansouri, Director of Expo Khor Fakkan; and Jamal Saeed Buzanjal, SCCI Director of the Corporate Communication Department, General Coordinator of the Promotions;as well as a number of officials and representatives of the local media.

At the press conference, Al Dhaid Date Festival 2023 Organization Committee announced the value of prizes allocated for the festival’s seventh round competitions, which exceeds AED 800,000, to be distributed to winners.

The competition categories include Al Ratab Beauty, Largest Dates Branch, Best Lemons, Fig Contest, Al Heseel Date Contest, and Most Beautiful Dates Basket (only for women).Each category offers rewards of between AED 1,000 and AED 25,000.

In addition, a package of economic, commercial, cultural and heritage events and activities fall into the event agenda.

Adopted and sponsored by SCCI, AlDhaid Dates Festival reflects the Chamber’s commitment to provide all forms of support to farmers and develop date-based local industries. The event contributes to upgrading and promoting the quality of Emirati national products, in implementation of the insights of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, within the framework of preserving the palm tree social and cultural heritage value. It also avails great opportunities for experience and knowledge exchange on the vast palm resources among farmers, investors and the younger generations, Al-Awadi noted.

He added that the festival has been able over the past six years to enhance its presence and position itself, now, as one of the most prominent date-related events nation-and regionwide. The last edition’s visitors amounted to more than 20,000, with AED 1,500,000 worth prizes for 271 winners across the festival’s competitions which increase annually with an aim to raise awareness on modern farming methods, and encourage the farmers to leverage date production quality without relying on chemical fertilizers to preserve the purity of strains, which Al Dhaid is famous for.

The event, moreover, hosts experts in this important field, for promoting and exchanging information about latest trends and experiences in the farm sector.

For his part, Mohammed Musabah Al Tunaiji revealed that this year’s edition will witness the addition of a new competition under the name “Al Dhaid Fort for Palm Owners”, which is dedicated to farmers from the Emirate of Sharjah. The initiative comes to contribute to documenting the history of the central region of this historical edifice that dates back to the year 1750 AD.

Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Award for Agricultural Excellence will also join the festival,Al Tunaiji added, noting that this participation aims at encouraging and honoring farmers and commercial farms, in addition to stimulating agricultural innovation, and encouraging the adoption of best agricultural practices.

Saeed Rashid bin Fadel Al Ketbi expressed his pleasure of Al Wusta Channel’s strategic participation in the festival for the second consecutive year, stressing that the channel will spare no effort in highlighting this event through live broadcasts during the event. It will also organise interviews and field meetings, as well as online coverage on social media platforms to promote the festival and its positive outputs.

Rashid Muhair Al Ketbi stated that the seventh-round agenda include many attractive and valuable competitions which aim at encouraging palm farm owners to take an interest in developing palm cultivation, indicating that the competitions this year will be divided into the Most Beautiful Dates Basket which is excluded for women from the age of 25 and above, provided that the basket shall be handmade and locally made from palm fronds and luxurious dates.

He also outlined that entering the competitions includes a number of general conditions, for example, dates must belong to the country’s local production; participants from Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Northern Emirates have to present dates from the production of their own farm or garden. All supporting documents must be filed when applying for registration.

An oath will be taken before for all the festival’s contributors, and some visits to farms will be made as well.

Al Ratab Khanzi Beauty, and Largest Dates Branch (40 kilograms and above for Khasab Dates, 50 kilograms for other kinds) are the first competitions to start on Thursday, July 27; to be followed by Al-Khalas Beauty and Best Lemons competitions on July 28.

Al-Shishi Dates Red Fig and Most Beautiful Basket competitions are scheduled for July 29, while the last day witnesses the General Elite and Al Dhaid Fort Elite Competitions.