Dates crop estimated at 190 thousand tons

This year's dates crop is estimated at 190,000 tons, a record production compared to 2010, according to figures released on Tuesday by the Trade and Tourism Ministry ahead of the start next October 27 of the campaign for the exportation of this key Tunisian product. Eighty thousand tons of dates were exported in 2010 and exporters plan to improve this quota this year. During the meeting, exporters emphasised the need to get closer to producers to ensure a better quality of exportable production. They also recommended selecting dates in accordance with the required quality in order to ensure competitiveness of the Tunisian product in exporting markets.