Date industry eyes smaller crop, excellent quality
Date industry eyes smaller crop, excellent quality
California date growers are entering the 2025 harvest season with optimism, even as this year’s crop looks to be slightly lighter than last year.
Kristy Kneiding, manager of the California Date Commission, said early signs point to excellent quality, but the overall volume is expected to be down. “We are estimating that volume will be down slightly from last year and are forecasting a tight market towards the end of the season,” she said.
Cooler-than-normal weather in the Coachella Valley during August slowed ripening and pushed the harvest back a few weeks. A brief rain event raised concerns, but Kneiding said the crop does not appear to have been affected. “California date consumers are going to be extremely pleased with this year’s crop when they see it on the store shelves and it will be worth the wait,” she said.
Organic production continues to be one of the strongest growth areas for the industry. Kneiding said Millennials and Gen Z are fueling year-over-year increases in demand, and growers are well positioned to meet the market. “Organic dates continue to be a rising star with demand growing significantly year-over-year. This trend shows no sign of letting up,” she said.
On the consumer side, dates remain a popular snack thanks to their nutrient density, high fiber, and antioxidant content. Kneiding noted that education efforts around health, sustainability, and convenience are resonating, while innovations in packaging—such as snack packs and smaller containers—are making dates more portable. “Snacking is still the number one way dates are being consumed, but more and more they are being seen as a healthy ingredient in a large variety of both sweet and savory recipes,” she said.
Value-added products are also expanding opportunities, with date sugar and syrup gaining attention from both consumers and health professionals. At the Plantrician Project conference, Kneiding said physicians repeatedly cited date sugar as the healthiest sugar to recommend.
Looking ahead, the California Date Commission sees the greatest opportunity for growth in the produce department itself. “The biggest opportunity for dates in U.S. retail is to keep the fruit featured in the produce department and less in the dried fruit section of stores,” Kneiding said. “California dates are fresh and their presence in the fresh fruit section will increase sales and demand.”
