Jujube, also known as’ desert bread ‘, is an important crop widely cultivated in Arab countries with a history of thousands of years of artificial cultivation. Tunisia is a major producer and exporter of date palm in the world, and its “Light of Tigris” date palm is world-renowned. Tunisian date processor Ahmed Boudjebel told reporters that he is very eager to promote the expansion of this Tunisian star product into the Chinese market.
The factory of Bujebele is located in the Naboule Province in eastern Tunisia, mainly engaged in date palm processing and export business. During a recent visit, the reporter learned that this factory processes about 20000 tons of “Tigris Light” date palm annually, all of which are used for export, accounting for about one tenth of Tunisia’s total date palm exports.
It is reported that the “Light of Tigris” date palm originated from the Two Rivers Basin, with a shape similar to a thumb and a semi transparent golden or amber fruit. The mature fruit has a soft and glutinous taste, moderate sweetness, and excellent taste. It is a high-end product in the international date palm market and is therefore known as the “golden finger” locally.
The Bujiebeile family has been engaged in the jujube processing industry in the local area for more than 40 years, and currently their products are mainly exported to Africa, Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia. A few years ago, Bujie Beile took over this industry from his father, and now he is starting to explore the Chinese market.
Caesar Ben Alpha, Director of the Date Export and Promotion Center of the Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture, recently stated in an interview with reporters that date palm is the second largest export agricultural product in Tunisia, generating considerable foreign exchange income every year. In addition, the jujube planting and processing industry has also absorbed a large number of rural laborers. He stated that the Tunisian government fully supports the export of its own date palm to Asian countries, especially China.
Bu Jiebeile told reporters that compared to white sugar, date palm has higher nutritional value. It is rich in dietary fiber, minerals, and vitamins, and has a lower glycemic index after intake. Date palm powder can replace white sugar in food processing, making it more friendly to sugar control groups and food enthusiasts.
This young entrepreneur stated that the expansion of the Chinese consumer base and the continuous improvement of public health awareness provide a good opportunity for Tunisian date palm to enter the Chinese market. Tunisian dates have a sugar content of about 65%, moderate sweetness, and are more suitable for Chinese taste than dates from other countries.
In this factory, the reporter saw workers busy processing and packaging branched dates and pitted dates, and transporting processed dates powder, date puree, and other products into the cold storage. Modern testing equipment will detect the moisture content of each batch of products to ensure the freshness of dates during long-distance transportation.
In June of this year, China announced that it would implement 100% tariff free products for 53 African countries with diplomatic relations, in order to promote the entry of high-quality African goods into the Chinese market. Bujie Beile was very happy to hear this news. He said that this policy is an excellent opportunity for his factory, and he is planning to attend relevant exhibitions in China in the near future to find partners and expand cooperation opportunities.