BENGALURU: Russell Market, which was catapulted to a major date supplier for Karnataka region in the last 20 years, has witnessed a two-fold increase in supply of dates, thanks to the supply of dates from South Africa, Iran, Tunisia and other parts.
The traders, however, maintain that following the conflict between Israel and Palestine over Gaza, they have stopped the purchase of ‘King Solomon’ brand dates from Israel.
Mohammed Idrees Chaudary, general secretary of Russell Market, told The New Indian Express, “Earlier, only Lion brand dates were being marketed and supplied by others. But the last several years of struggle in getting supply of fresh and quality dates from Iran, Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Jordan in South Africa, and Turkey are getting enough dates and are likely to distribute them to the rest of Karnataka.”
Dates like Mambroom, Medjoul, Barhi, Mazafat, Sagai, Ajwa, Sukkary and others are brought and are on display. They are available from Rs 150 to Rs 1,600 under one roof.
“The dates are not just purchased by the Muslim community for Ramadan to break their fast as per tradition. After Covid-19, people from other communities are also buying them. Priests from Iskcon, Bengaluru, Christian priests and political leaders buy these dates which are good for health. The dates contain natural sugar and are rich in iron and dietary fibre,” stated Choudary. The traders would earlier buy Medjoul dates from Israel under the brand name King Solomon, which are big in size. These dates are soft and creamy and are priced at Rs 1,650 per kilo.
“Since there is a conflict between Palestine and Israel, we have stopped buying dates from Israel over the past few years and now many traders from Muslim nations are favouring buying dates from Palestine. We also have Medjoul dates from Palestine this time,” said Chaudhary.