The volume of investments in the date palm industry has reached some $500 million, according to Jordan Dates Association (JODA) President Anwar Haddad.

The total area of date palm cultivation covers around 35,000 dunums, mainly in the Jordan Valley, with some 550,000 palms, Haddad said.

Speking during a lecture titled "Date: A national strategic product" via the videoconferencing platform Zoom, organised by the Jordan Society for Scientific Research, Entrepreneurship and Creativity on Sunday, Haddad said that the Kingdom's palm sector employs more than 8,000 people, of which 35 per cent are women. 

The local variant medjool dates are in great demand in international markets due to its "unique” texture and digestibility, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted Haddad as saying. 

He noted that this local variety contains only galactose (monosaccharide sugar) and does not contain disaccharide known for its adverse impact on blood sugar. 

Medjool dates contain high levels of potassium, phosphorus, vitamins, magnesium and manganese, according to Haddad.

The date production season in Jordan starts at the tail end of the harvest season in the Gulf region, he said.