October rains reduce a 'weak' date harvest in Elche to 60 tonnes

No todo lo llovido durante el mes de octubre ha sido positivo para el campo. Las precipitaciones dejadas por la dana Alicante han propiciado una merma del 10% en la campaña del dátil de Elche, que ha registrado una cosecha «floja», de unas 60 toneladas.

According to La Unió, this is a consequence of the loss of production due to the October rains, which forced an accelerated harvest to prevent them from ripening faster than desired, and the subsequent humidity accelerated this reduction.

Despite this reduction, those in the Elche fields remain "optimistic" about the future as 700 new palm trees have been planted, which will increase the harvest in a few years. Producers are also focusing efforts on developing a new late variety, 'Helike', which will break seasonality and offer dates for more months of the year, beyond Christmas.

The Elche date campaign has already begun, and these fruits are now distributed throughout Spain. Additionally, they have started to be marketed in two European countries, Belgium and the Netherlands, and they plan to reach Denmark as well.

The Association of Date Producers of Elche insists that these Elche dates are "fresh, have less sugar due to more water content, and a more natural taste." The association's president, Miguel Ángel Sánchez, highlighted that "no sugar is added to them, and it is a fruit format that many people are not even aware of."

In this regard, Sánchez emphasizes that "Elche dates are completely different from those we can find in stores that are completely sugared; it is a fresh product that once tried, no other type of date will be desired."

The Miguel Hernández University also highlights the multiple nutritional properties of the Elche date. The fruit allows sugar to be trapped between the fibres for better absorption by the body, even offering high mineral content such as potassium, more than triple, for example, with the local Confitera variety compared to the banana, which is considered the flagship fruit of this essential mineral for the body to function normally.