STORY: 6th Jordan Int'l Date Palm Festival opens in Amman
SHOOTING TIME: Nov. 10, 2024
DATELINE: Nov. 11, 2024
LENGTH: 0:02:03
LOCATION: Amman
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the festival, exhibitors and their products
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): RAED ALSAYDEH, Chairman of Dates Agricultural Cooperative Society
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): ALAA ALKHATIB, Exhibitor

STORYLINE:

The 6th Jordan International Date Palm Festival kicked off in the Jordanian capital of Amman on Sunday.

The festival is organized by the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation. The Jordanian Ministry of Agriculture and the Jordanian Dates Association provide support for the event.

According to Raed Alsaydeh, chairman of the Dates Agricultural Cooperative Society, Jordan's date industry exports to more than 50 countries and regions around the world and has an annual production that is worth more than 60 million dollars.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): RAED ALSAYDEH, Chairman of Dates Agricultural Cooperative Society
"These exhibitions contribute greatly to introducing to the world Jordanian dates and their high-quality and nutritional value. They also have a significant and positive impact on the farmers in terms of raising the financial value and economic return on the farmers."

For exhibitors, the festival provides a great opportunity for date palm farmers and companies to promote their products to the international market. 
SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): ALAA ALKHATIB, Exhibitor
"The festival provides us, year after year, with new buyers and new markets that open up for us, in addition to increasing competition between us and others."

The festival, which runs until Tuesday, is attended by local exhibitors as well as palm industry representatives from countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Egypt, Sudan, Mexico and Pakistan.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Amman.
(XHTV)