Methodology
How Council statistics are defined and measured
Indicator definitions, the date type taxonomy, revision policy, confidentiality rules and index base periods used across every dashboard on this site.
Indicators
Indicator definitions and units
Every statistic published by the Council belongs to one of nine standard indicators, each with a fixed unit and definition applied consistently across countries and years.
Production
Tonnes
Total volume of dates produced, by country and year.
Reported to 2 decimal places
Consumption
Tonnes
Domestic apparent consumption of dates.
Reported to 2 decimal places
Exports
Tonnes
Outbound trade volumes of dates and date products.
Reported to 2 decimal places
Imports
Tonnes
Inbound trade volumes of dates and date products.
Reported to 2 decimal places
Trade Value
USD
Combined value of date sector trade flows.
Reported to 2 decimal places
Prices
USD / tonne
Average producer and export unit prices.
Reported to 0 decimal places
Cultivation Area
Hectares
Area under date palm cultivation.
Reported to 2 decimal places
Yield
Tonnes / hectare
Average productivity per hectare of cultivated land.
Reported to 2 decimal places
Market Trends
Index (2018 = 100)
Composite market momentum index for the date sector.
Reported to 1 decimal places
Live series for each indicator are available on the Data & Statistics dashboards and in the Date Indices.
Taxonomy
Date type taxonomy
Varietal categories used to disaggregate production, trade and price series. Categories reflect processing state and market positioning, not botanical classification.
Ajwa
Soft, dark premium variety cultivated mainly around Al Madinah.
Source: Member Country Submission
Sukkari
Sweet golden variety with high domestic and Gulf demand.
Source: Member Country Submission
Khalas
Widely traded Gulf variety, strong retail and processing use.
Source: Official Statistical Dataset
Medjool
Large premium variety dominating European and North American imports.
Source: ITC
Deglet Nour
North African export variety with established EU market share.
Source: ITC
Barhi
Consumed fresh at khalal stage; growing specialty segment.
Source: Council Field Survey
Sagai
Two-tone variety with steady Gulf trade volumes.
Source: Member Country Submission
Mabroom
Elongated dry variety with long shelf life and export resilience.
Source: Member Country Submission
Revision policy
Each indicator series is revised once per annual reporting cycle, when the full set of member submissions for the year has been consolidated.
Provisional national estimates are clearly labelled until final consolidation. Historical values are only restated when a member submits a formal correction.
Confidentiality
Individual respondent-level data (a single farm, exporter or shipment) is never published. The Council publishes only aggregated country totals.
Where a country total would reveal a single dominant respondent, the figure is suppressed and flagged as confidential in the underlying dataset.
Index base periods
Composite indices, including the Market Trends index, are rebased to 2018 = 100 so that growth can be compared consistently across the full reporting history.
Base periods are reviewed every five reporting cycles; any rebasing is announced in advance and the prior series is retained for continuity.