Saudi Arabia is set to highlight its growing date industry as the guest of honor at the upcoming Fancy Food Show in New York City, scheduled for June 28-30. The semiannual event, recognized as one of North America’s largest specialty food exhibitions, attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors and more than 2,400 exhibitors from around 50 countries.

Representing the Kingdom at the show will be the National Center for Palms and Dates alongside selected Saudi date producers. They will present a range of premium date varieties and related products, aiming to strengthen the sector’s global presence and open new avenues for trade.

The National Center for Palms and Dates emphasized the significance of the Fancy Food Show as a key international platform for the industry. It offers opportunities for networking, launching new products, exchanging knowledge, and exploring technological advancements related to date cultivation and processing.

Saudi Arabia’s date industry is a sizeable agricultural sector, with the Kingdom home to over 37 million palm trees. Saudi dates are currently exported to 125 countries and are sold in more than 1,500 retail outlets worldwide under the unified Saudi Date brand.

In 2025, the Kingdom produced approximately 1.9 million tonnes of dates, with export revenues reaching nearly SR2 billion ($533 million), according to a recent report from the National Center for Palms and Dates.

Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman AlFadley described the New York event as a strategic opportunity to support Saudi date producers. He highlighted the importance of raising global awareness of Saudi date products to further boost export volumes and enhance the sector’s international competitiveness.