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Wednesday, April 24, 2024 15:30 GMT
The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP) has announced the successful export of around 2,065 tons of the busur crop of Omani dates harvested during the course of 2020. The busur crop refers to certain types of dates that are harvested before they ripen, cooked in vats and then sun-dried. The entire process forms part of the tabseel season, which is marked throughout the date growing parts of the Sultanate.This year’s busur haul was made up of dates of the Al Mebselli, Al Madlouki and Abu Narengah types. During a roughly six-week period extending from April 11 to May 20 this year, farmers and traders dealing in the busur crop deposited their harvests at the warehouses of the Ministry in the Al Wadi al Kabir area of Muscat. As many as 66 farmers and traders contributed to this year’s haul, according to the Ministry. Each received RO 62,500 (US$163,000) per ton of busur dates.The busur crop forms a longstanding tradition supported by the Ministry to ensure that date growers in the Sultanate secure a market for their annual produce. While the collection process is overseen by the Ministry to ensure that the crop meets with certain standards and specifications, the export process is tendered out to companies as part of a competitive process.India is traditionally an important destination for Omani busur dates where they are either retailed out as dried dates or chopped and mixed with other dried fruits. Alternatively, they can be processed into numerous types of date-based snacks and food products.