MOROCCO SIDATTES 2026: 177,000T DATE OUTPUT FORECAST FOR 2026-27, +11% YOY — DRÂA-TAFILALET HOLDS 83% OF CROPMOROCCO: DOMESTIC DATE CONSUMPTION ESTIMATED 220,000–250,000T VS. 177,000T PRODUCTION — STRUCTURAL IMPORT DEPENDENCY PERSISTSSIDATTES 2026: INRA GENOMIC WORK CONFIRMS MOROCCAN MEJHOUL GENETICALLY DISTINCT FROM JORDAN & US POPULATIONSTUNISIA 2026-27 DATE HARVEST FORECAST AT 354,000T — DOWN 12.4% FROM RECORD 404,000T; MATURITY DELAY NOTEDDREWRY WCI 29 OCT: $4,429/40FT (−3% WOW), TRANSPACIFIC PULLBACK; ASIA-EUROPE ROTTERDAM LANE +1% TO $3,686US REEFER SPOT $2.73/MILE WEEK ENDING OCT 24 — +31.4% YOY PER DAT; ALL THREE EQUIPMENT TYPES SHED ~2¢ ON WEEKALGERIA DATE EXPORT PRICE FLOOR ($0.80–$2.50/KG BY VARIETY) NOW IN FIRST HARVEST ENFORCEMENT CYCLE SINCE 1 JUL 2026WATCH: WILL MOROCCO'S STRUCTURAL IMPORT GAP (40,000–70,000T) TIGHTEN AVAILABILITY FOR REGIONAL MEDJOOL EXPORT CAMPAIGNS?
31.9314° N · 4.4258° W TAFILALET — ORIGIN — UTC
The instrument panel of a global trade
The Medjool trade finally has a terminal.
One fruit, four continents, a premium quarter of world date trade — and until now, no shared instruments. medjool.food puts the working tools of the category in one place: a price index, a grading engine, container math, plantation economics, water planning and the global calendar. Free, independent, built for the people who move the crop.
price · grade · load · model · water · calendar · carbon · codex
Year Medjool left Morocco
0
11 offshoots, under quarantine
01 — THE MEDJOOL TERMINAL
Eight instruments. Zero login. Amber on dark, like the fruit itself.
Every figure is editable, every result copyable. Benchmarks are indicative and clearly labeled — replace defaults with your own numbers and the math is yours.
MPX — Medjool Price Index
Indicative monthly FOB benchmark, USD per kg. Select origin and grade; hover the curve to read any month.
— $/KG
—
24-mo high
—
24-mo low
—
12-mo average
—
Seasonality peak
—
Deterministic model on expert-assessed anchors — formula published in full in the methodology. Not a transaction price. The contributor-verified MPX is in development: submit verified prices →
Grade classifier
Enter a single-fruit weight — or a count per kilogram — and read the grade under the medjool.food harmonized reference (v1.0).
grams — weigh 10 fruits, divide by 10 for a fair sample
Classification
JUMBO
18–23 g · ≈ 44–55 fruits per kg
Reference scale — live position
Medium
12–15 g
Large
15–18 g
Jumbo
18–23 g
Super Jumbo
≥ 23 g
Relative fruit size
MED · 13g
LRG · 16g
JMB · 20g
S.JMB · 25g
Bands per the medjool.food harmonized reference v1.0. Market conventions vary ±1 g by packer and destination — see Section 03 for tolerances, moisture and defect limits.
Container loadout
The FOB math every trader redoes in a notebook — done once, properly. All fields editable.
40′ HC REEFER · 20 PALLETS · SIDE VIEW
Cartons / pallet—
Total cartons—
Net weight—
Est. gross (net ×1.08)—
FOB value / container—
Pallet patterns vary with carton dims and pallet type (EUR vs US). Defaults are common trade configurations — always confirm against your packer's spec and reefer payload limits.
Plantation investment modeler
A 15-year Medjool cashflow on the standard yield curve: first fruit year 4, commercial maturity year 8–9. Illustrative — not investment advice.
Cumulative net cashflowAnnual revenueBreakeven
Total capex (yr 0)—
Revenue at maturity /yr—
Mature margin /ha /yr—
Payback year—
15-yr cumulative net—
Yield curve applied: Y1–3 establishment (0%) · Y4 10% · Y5 25% · Y6 45% · Y7 65% · Y8 85% · Y9+ 100% of mature yield. Real projects add water rights, land, packing, finance costs and price/grade mix — commission a full study before committing capital.
Irrigation water planner
Mature Medjool palms are thirsty desert giants. Size the annual water bill before you size the farm.
peak L / palm / day at maturity: 200 · 160 · 120
Annual abstraction required
— m³/yr
—
Peak daily demand—
Per palm per year—
Drip vs flood saving—
Olympic pools equivalent
Assumes a seasonal profile averaging 70% of peak across the year. Actual crop water demand varies with ET₀, soil, mulching, age and salinity — validate with a local agronomic study.
Trade unit converter
Kilograms, pounds, cartons, pallets, containers — and any price re-expressed across all of them.
Equivalents
Kilograms—
Pounds—
Metric tonnes—
5 kg cartons—
Pallets (108 ctn)—
40′ reefers—
Value @ ref. price—
Pallet/container assumptions match the Container tool defaults (108 × 5 kg cartons per pallet, 20 pallets per 40′ HC reefer ≈ 10.8 t net). Adjust there for your own configuration.
Date palm carbon calculator
Every mature Medjool palm is a standing carbon store — in its biomass and the soil beneath it. Size the carbon stock, and the CO₂ it represents, for a grove of any age.
carbon stock per palm: young 33.97 · medium 159.21 · mature 318.49 kg C
crown area CA = π·CD²/4 · trunk height Ht=0 for young palms with no clear trunk
CO₂ equivalent held in the grove
— t CO₂e
—
Biomass carbon (crown · trunk · root)—
Soil organic carbon (under canopy)—
Average per palm—
Still to sequester as grove matures—
Equivalent — passenger cars off the road for a year
Carbon stock = biomass C + soil organic C. Coefficients from a peer-reviewed arid-land study of Phoenix dactylifera (Abu Dhabi; R² 0.83–0.95). Variety, climate and soil shift real values — indicative, not a verified carbon credit. CO₂e = C × 44/12. Car factor 4.6 t CO₂/yr (US EPA). Full methodology →
Ripeness & Codex export sizing
Read a lot against the international standard for fresh dates (Codex CCFFV21). Enter moisture to place the ripeness stage, then a size to read the official export grade.
Grades and stages per Codex Alimentarius CCFFV21/CRD14 (proposed draft, fresh dates), the export-control standard — distinct from the MF-STD v1.0 Medjool commercial bands in Section 03. Class defect tolerances (Extra/I/II) are documented in the standard sheet.
MEDJOOL TERMINAL v1.0 · AMBER PHOSPHOR EDITION—FREE FOR THE TRADE · NO LOGIN · NO TRACKING OF INPUTS
02 — THE GLOBAL HARVEST CALENDAR
Two hemispheres, one near year-round crop.
Northern origins pick August–October; southern origins February–April. Procurement teams: plan against the amber column — that is today.
03 — THE HARMONIZED REFERENCE
One standard the whole trade can quote.
Sizing conventions differ by origin and buyer. The medjool.food reference v1.0 harmonizes them into bands any contract can cite.
Grade
Fruit weight
Count / kg
Typical use
Super JumboFlagship
≥ 23 g
< 44
Gift · premium retail
JumboTrade benchmark
18 – 23 g
44 – 55
Retail · food-service
Large
15 – 18 g
56 – 66
Retail · ingredients
Medium
12 – 15 g
67 – 83
Ingredients · paste
Beneath the size bands, v1.0 also specifies: moisture 20–26% for fresh-soft handling · loose-skin tolerance by grade · max defect counts (fermentation, sugaring, insect damage) per 100 fruits · pit-in presentation as default · defect tolerances mapped to Codex classes (Extra / I / II). Full text in the specification sheet.
Why a shared reference matters
Every dispute in this trade starts the same way: two parties using the same word for different fruit. "Jumbo" spans a gram or more depending on the packing shed. A public, neutral band structure gives contracts a citation — and gives new buyers a map.
The reference is free to adopt. Quote it in specs as MF-STD v1.0, and tell us where your market's practice differs — divergences are documented in the annex, openly.
MF-STD does not replace regulation — it sits on top of it. Its minimum-quality, maturity and defect provisions align with the Codex Alimentarius proposed draft standard for fresh dates (CCFFV21) and the long-standing Codex Standard for Dates; the Medjool-specific size bands are the commercial layer the Codex text deliberately leaves open. Check any lot against the official framework in Terminal T8.
Statusv1.0 · open for annex comments
ScopeFresh-soft whole Medjool, pit-in
Verify a lotWeigh 100 fruits · use Terminal T2
04 — ORIGIN & SPREAD
From one Moroccan oasis to a global crop.
Every Medjool palm alive today traces its lineage to the Tafilalt oasis of southeastern Morocco, where the variety was cultivated in relative isolation for centuries — traded along the trans-Saharan routes as currency, sustenance and symbol.
In 1927, Bayoud disease threatened to erase the Medjool entirely. Eleven offshoots left Morocco under quarantine — and founded a global crop.
The near-extinction that seeded four continents
From those survivors the Medjool spread to the United States, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Namibia and Peru — each region developing its own seasons, water strategies and grading conventions while sharing a single genetic root. Today the name carries no single national flag. It is a shared inheritance, and this site treats it that way.
Tafilalt, Morocco. The Mejhoul is the prized cultivar of the oasis economy, moving north with the caravans.
1927
The rescue. Facing Bayoud fungus, 11 offshoots are shipped to the United States under USDA quarantine in Nevada.
1944
Nine survivors are planted out near Yuma, Arizona — the founding stock of the American industry.
1950s–70s
Return east. Offshoots establish commercial groves in the Jordan Valley on both banks, then the Gulf.
1990s–2010s
Southern hemisphere. South Africa, Namibia and Peru plant at scale — counter-seasonal supply is born.
2020s
The premium era. New plantings across Morocco, the Gulf and beyond chase a category growing faster than the date market itself.
05 — PRODUCTION & TRADE MONITOR
The state of the global crop, origin by origin.
No official body publishes variety-level Medjool statistics — customs and FAO data count all dates as one line. These are triangulated industry estimates (±25%) from producer-association statements, packer disclosures and trade press. Full methodology →
MEDJOOL MONITOR
Estimated annual output
—
—
SOURCE: TRIANGULATED INDUSTRY ESTIMATES ±25% · METHODOLOGY PUBLISHEDREV. 2026.11 · CONTRIBUTOR-VERIFIED DATASET IN DEVELOPMENT
06 — MARKET INTELLIGENCE
The briefing the category never had.
Trade journalism, not lifestyle content: crop calls, price moves, phytosanitary changes, logistics and demand signals.
Crop watch
Morocco SIDATTES 2026: Record 177,000T Output Forecast, But Structural Import Gap Holds
Morocco's Ministry of Agriculture projected 177,000T of dates for the 2026-27 campaign at the opening of SIDATTES 2026 in Erfoud (28 Oct), up 11% on the prior season and described as a national record. Drâa-Tafilalet contributes 83% of national output. Yet domestic consumption runs at 220,000–250,000T annually, leaving a structural deficit of 40,000–70,000T, which the minister flagged as a priority for storage, valorisation, and import regulation. Regional exports from Tafilalet reached 1,510T in 2026.
SIDATTES 2026: INRA Genomics Confirm Moroccan Mejhoul Is Genetically Distinct From Jordanian and US Populations
Researchers from Morocco's Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) presented genomic findings at SIDATTES 2026 in Erfoud showing that the Moroccan Mejhoul genome is genetically distinct from Mejhoul populations cultivated in Jordan and the United States. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed significant divergence, opening pathways for varietal characterisation, Bayoud-resistance breeding, and potential geographic-identity protection. The findings were presented alongside calls from the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm for international recognition of Mejhoul's Moroccan origins.
Drewry WCI Pulls Back to $4,429 on 29 Oct as Transpacific Softens; US Reefer Holds +31% YOY Into Packing Window
The Drewry World Container Index fell 3% to $4,429/40ft on 29 October, reversing a two-week rebound — Shanghai–LA dropped 6% to $7,514 and Shanghai–NY fell 5% to $9,631 as US import demand eased. Asia-Europe held firmer: Rotterdam edged +1% to $3,686. In parallel, US domestic reefer spot rates averaged $2.73/mile for the week ending 24 October (DAT), still +31.4% year over year, with reefer load postings down 4.7% on the week — a modest softening that leaves costs structurally elevated for Bard Valley outbound movements.
The Medjool Brief — the trade's week, in five minutes.
Prices, crop calls, tenders and regulation. Written for professionals. Free.
07 — THE GLOBAL DIRECTORY
Find the other side of your next contract.
Growers, packers, traders, manufacturers and institutions — searchable by role and region. Founding listings are open now.
08 — BUILD THE RECORD WITH US
The terminal is free. The data gets better when you feed it.
Verified FOB prices, pack-out reports, plantings, corrections to the monitor, annex comments on the standard — every contribution is credited or kept confidential, at your choice. This is how a category builds its own Bloomberg.