Mexico has emerged as the world’s fourth-largest date producer, exporting over 9,000 tons of medjool dates, valued at $41.8 million, to markets including the United States, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates. Once relatively unknown to local consumers, the fruit is now central to a growing industry bringing economic benefits to farmers in arid regions.
Globally, Egypt leads in date production, followed by Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Mexico. Within Mexico, most cultivation occurs in Sonora and Baja California, particularly in the municipalities of San Luis Río Colorado and Mexicali.
Medjool dates, prized for their size, sweetness, and texture, have become a domestic luxury item, selling for 200 to 250 pesos per kilo. Mexico produces about 21,000 tons annually, with nearly half exported. The rest is consumed in major cities.
Fifteen years ago, agricultural shifts away from low-profit crops like wheat spurred the state to promote date palms. That push has since sparked the “Date Route”, a tourism initiative blending agriculture, cuisine, and local identity. The tour begins in the Mexicali Valley, where visitors can explore plantations, witness pollination and harvests, and sample unique offerings like spicy dates or coffee sweetened with dates from Veracruz.
Among the tour’s highlights is the “desert carajillo”, a twist on the classic cocktail made with date distillate and a chunk of fruit replacing the coffee bean. The drink, rich and smooth, evokes the northern desert landscape.
The Date Route is more than a travel experience. I’s part of a broader push to build a domestic industry around dates. Producers aim to reduce dependence on exports by developing value-added products such as spirits, snacks, and functional beverages.
In contrast, Baja California Sur’s date palms are mostly found in traditional oases, not intensive farms, making them less commercially significant.
From the fields of Mexicali, the Mexican date is beginning to carve out a place on the global stage as part crop, part cultural emblem.