Doha: The 11th Fresh Local Dates Festival has wrapped up following a record public turnout and robust sales of multiple cultivars of fresh local dates.
According to Qatar News Agency, the festival was organized by the Ministry of Municipality in collaboration with Souq Waqif and drew almost 110,000 visitors, while dates sales reached 183,268 kilograms. This included 78,194 kilograms of Khalas, 34,336 kilograms of Khunaizi, 34,673 kilograms of Shishi, and 22,404 kilograms of Barhi. Sales of other cultivars reached 13,661 kilograms.
These achievements underscore the event's success in supporting homegrown agricultural products, strengthening the presence of Qatari dates in markets, and encouraging local farmers to increase production and improve the quality of their products.
This is alongside providing a direct platform to familiarize consumers with cultivars of fresh local dates and market them to consumers.
The Ministry affirmed that the festival was part of its ongoing efforts to support local farmers and provide marketing outlets that contribute to fostering the economic viability of the agricultural sector, encouraging increased production and improving its quality.
The Ministry noted that this comes in support of the nation's efforts to strengthen food security and sustain domestic agricultural production.
As part of ongoing efforts to support the marketing of this product and make it available to consumers following the conclusion of the festival, the Ministry continues to collaborate with a number of shopping malls, chiefly Villaggio, Doha Festival City and Landmark.
The objective is to make this product readily available for sale to consumers until Aug. 15, as an extension of efforts aimed at expanding marketing outlets for local products, facilitating consumer access to them, and supporting Qatari farms during the production season.