Al Dhaid Dates Festival continues to enthrall visitors

Organized by the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), the four-day event has attracted hundreds of participants, in addition to an impressive turnout of visitors from all over the country.

The competitions of the 2022 edition have undergone positive changes, which resulted in fanning the flames of competitiveness among palm owners and farmers, attracting more participants and boosting the festival’s momentum and activities in comparison to previous years.

This has provided palm farmers with an ideal opportunity to display and market their products, as well as learn about the best practices and procedures used to improve the caliber of date production.
Many governmental institutions and bodies concerned with agriculture are attending the festival, in addition to a group of experts and specialists in the date industry, as well as companies specializing in agricultural equipment and technologies.

Abdul Aziz Shattaf, Assistant Director-General for the Communications and Business Sector, stressed that the festival has once again proved its growing importance for all palm owners and farmers in the country, especially those in Sharjah, as evidenced by the impressive participation and the remarkable turnout of visitors.

"From offering all forms of assistance to farmers, to developing and upgrading date-based local industries, and improving the quality of Emirati products, the chamber makes every effort to raise the festival's standards with each new edition, as it has always been committed to supporting the sustainability of the palm plantation sector and local date production," Shattaf added.

For his part, Dr. Rashid Ahmed Al Mazrouei, heritage specialist, said that Al Dhaid Date Festival plays a significant role in maintaining the historical status of the palm tree and preserving the rich cultural heritage of the UAE people; while Ibrahim Shakah, one of those participating in the festival’s competitions, said: " The event established a strong competitive atmosphere among participants who were also keen to highlight the quality of date production and display the finest types and variations of dates that the UAE is famous for, such as Lulu, Al Buman, Al Khunaizi, and many more variants."

Winners of the first day’s competitions have been honored on the second day of the festival, which also saw the announcement of winners of day 2 contests. Abdulaziz Shattaf, who was joined by a number of officials, distributed cash prizes to the winners, lauding their outstanding efforts and keenness to showcase the best date products, preserve the palm tree, and maintain the rich cultural heritage of the UAE people.

The festival’s beauty competitions will continue to receive entries from farmers until the fourth and last day of the event, which will conclude with two beauty competitions for Al Nukhba dates and figs. The closing ceremony will be held tomorrow at 10pm during which winners of the prizes which range in value from AED 1000 to AED 25,000 will be announced.