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ESTABAN VILLARREAL
THE BAJA POST/STAFF
The Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development of Baja California, together with the state government and date producers, invite you to the festival next Saturday, November 16, and Sunday, November 17, at the City Forest Zoo in Mexicali. They expect around 10,000 people.
The event will feature 35 exhibitors showcasing products such as figs, artisanal cheeses, date distillates, honey, and other handmade products. Doors open at 10 AM and the festival closes at 5 PM. There will be an entrance fee of 25 pesos per person. The festival will also have artistic and musical performances, including live bands, dances, and art and photography exhibitions.
This aims to showcase the industry in Baja California, as well as promote consumption at regional, national, and international levels, as expressed by Secretary Juan Meléndrez. Additionally, the event seeks to open new marketing channels, an effort that has already shown results, as he added that there have been discussions with Mexico City and commercial links have been established.
Around 20,000 tons of dates are produced annually in Baja California, generating 1,200 million pesos in revenue. There are 1,000 hectares of production, and they hope to add 1,200 more next year, thus becoming the number one date-producing state in the country. The Mexicali Valley and Laguna Salada have over 150 date palm plantations.
Natividad Jaime, a date producer in Mexicali and a festival organizer, comments that the product made in our valley has already been presented to foreign producers. On a recent trip to Morocco, he presented the product to Arab producers, who were surprised by the quality of our dates, hoping to welcome ambassadors to the festival.
He also said that it is an achievement to have the product valued at an international level since the industry is young, with date production in Baja California having only started 10 years ago.
