Date trade
India imports the most dates, spending approximately 225 million U.S. dollars on 362 million metric tons of imports. Tunisia is a leading exporter and shipped over 300 million U.S. dollars' worth of dates in 2020. The United Arab Emirates, however, exported the highest volume of dates that year, accounting for 17 percent of global exports. The warm climates of these countries makes them ideal for growing dates.Dried fruit consumption
Per capita consumption of dates worldwide has remained fairly constant for several years at about 0.1 kilogram. Within the United States, consumption of table dates increased by over 30 percent between 2019 and 2020. Dried fruits, including dates, are the most valuable segments of the United States' fruit and vegetable market. On average, the per capita consumption of dried fruit, aside from raisins was about one pound since 2018/2019 in the U.S.
