According to the Regional Office for Agricultural Development of Tafilalet (ORMVA/TF), the early harvest of this fruit, which generally begins around mid-October, coincided this year with the month of Ramadan, during which the date market experiences great commercial dynamism.

Regarding the prices expected for this season, they will vary between 15 and 100 DH, depending on the varieties, thus recording, the same source adds, a clear drop after the surge at the beginning of this month, which curbed the enthusiasm of customers.

Whether in Errachidia, Aoufous, Rissani, or Erfoud, the date markets are being stormed during this second half of Ramadan by customers and potential resellers, and the supply is increasingly abundant both in terms of quality and variety.

While the production of the "Majhoul" variety, known for its nutritional quality, only constitutes 1% of the region's overall production, other varieties are produced in large quantities, namely "Khelt" (nearly 49%), "Boufeggous" (nearly 25%), and "Bouslikhen" (nearly 25%).

With a workforce of about 1,530,000 trees and an average production of 26,000 tonnes (26% of national production), the date palm, which is the oldest fruit species in the region, constitutes the backbone of oasis agriculture.

Besides its socio-economic role, the palm tree plays a certain environmental role, insofar as it constitutes a biological obstacle against the phenomena of sand encroachment and desertification.