Although the Mejhoul date originates from Morocco's Tafilalet Valley, the variety spread worldwide after 11 offshoots were taken to the United States in the 1920s, leading to large-scale cultivation in countries such as the United States, Israel, Mexico, and Jordan. Today, these countries dominate global production. DR ‹ › Mejhoul is widely considered the finest date variety in the world. Known for its high quality and price, it holds a special place in Moroccan culinary traditions, where the fruit is often pitted and filled with nuts to mark festive occasions and celebrations. Yet despite originating in Morocco's Tafilalet Valley in the Errachidia province, the country is not the world's largest producer or exporter of Mejhoul dates. The reason lies in the remarkable history of the fruit itself. As early as the 17th century, the Mejhoul variety was mentioned in a travelogue dedicated to Tafilalet by Al-Arabi Mizin. The author noted the presence of the variety in the Aoufous region, writing: «As for the harvest in autumn, they started it on the first day of October, except for the Mejhoul, which was harvested until the 17th of September». Mejhoul dates have long been considered a luxury product. According to «Date Production Support Programme of Mejhoul» shared by the FAO, the fruit was once sold in gift boxes during Christmas in cities such as Paris, Madrid, and London. The FAO description portrays Medjool dates as very large, elongated fruits weighing between 20 and 40 grams, with amber to dark brown skin when ripe and thick, firm, translucent flesh that is sweet and nearly fibre-free. Their wrinkled skin and distinctive wing-shaped seed are among their most recognizable characteristics. The American expansion However, the story of Mejhoul took a dramatic turn with the emergence of the Bayoud disease. In the 1920s, French colonial authorities began investigating the spread of the soil-borne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. albedinis, which was devastating Moroccan date plantations, particularly Mejhoul palms in Tafilalet. A scientific commission was created to study the disease and traveled to Colombachar, Erfoud, Errachidia (then Ksar Souk), and Boudnib, areas known for their Mejhoul plantations. Among its members was the American botanist Walter Swingle, whose visit would prove decisive for the global future of the variety. Impressed by the fruit, Swingle left Morocco with 11 Mejhoul offshoots, six standard-sized and five smaller ones offered to him. Upon arriving in Washington D.C., the offshoots were fumigated and placed under quarantine in Nevada, a region without date palms but with a climate suitable for their cultivation, according to the book «Variety Mejhoul: The Jewel of Dates, Origin, Distribution and International Markets». The quarantine lasted from 1927 to 1936. By the end of the process, nine offshoots survived and were transferred, along with 64 additional offshoots they produced, to a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) research station in Indio, California. Spreading worldwide In 1944, the USDA station in Indio began distributing the offshoots to growers in California and Arizona, marking the start of the variety's expansion outside Morocco. The Bard Company of California alone acquired 24 offshoots, and even today 99% of the date palms grown in Yuma, Arizona, and California's Bard Valley belong to the Mejhoul variety, the same book added. From there, the Mejhoul date palm gradually spread across the world. In 1968, offshoots from the United States were introduced to Mexico's San Luis Rio Colorado–Mexicali valley. Israel begun importing the variety as early as the 1950s, followed by another wave in the 1970s. Between 1978 and 1981, Israel imported 9,000 Mejhoul offshoots from California. In the early 1990s, South Africa began importing hundreds of offshoots from California, followed by thousands of tissue-cultured plantlets introduced into South Africa and Namibia, including from laboratories in France and England. In 1995, Jordan imported its first Mejhoul offshoot from California, and in 2006, Palestine introduced Mejhoul plantlets produced through tissue culture. The variety also spread to Australia, Peru, Chile, and Sudan. As production expanded worldwide, the United States and Israel quickly emerged as dominant producers. It is estimated that by 1996, about 100,000 Medjool palms, half in the United States and half in Israel, were supplying the global market with around 1,000 tons of fruit. Dominated by Israel This trend has continued to grow. According to data compiled by Professor Abdelouahhab Zaid and Professor Abdallah Oihabi, authors of «Variety Mejhoul», global production in 2020 was dominated by Israel with 45,000 tons, representing 41.48% of world output. The United States and Mexico followed with 16,000 tons (14.75%) and 15,000 tons (13.73%), respectively. Palestine produced 12,000 tons (11.06%), while Jordan reached 10,000 tons (9.22%). Morocco, the historical birthplace of the variety, produced only 3,500 tons, accounting for 3.23% of global production. Smaller shares came from South Africa and Namibia and Egypt (3,000 tons each, 2.77%), followed by Peru (500 tons, 0.46%), Australia (100 tons, 0.09%), and other producers contributing 500 tons (0.46%). According to a 2021 study on the production cost of Majhoul dates, global exports of the variety reach approximately 67,000 tons, generating about $469 million, with annual growth estimated between 5% and 10%, and around 25% of exports destined for the European market. Morocco's production, limited largely due to the devastating impact of Bayoud disease, is expected to grow as new efforts are made to revive the sector. Morocco plans plantation expansion, with 67% of newly planted palms being Mejhoul, and national production potentially reaching 70,000 tons by 2028.
