PRE-FEASIBILITY REPORTDATE PROCESSING

June 26, 2008

Prepared for:
USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program
Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Prepared in collaboration with:

Agland Investment Services, Inc.
900 Larkspur Landing Circle, Suite 205
Larkspur, CA 94939
Phone: 415.461.5820 Fax: 451.461.5821
agland@aglandinvest.com www.aglandinvest.com

USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

PREFACE
This report was prepared for the USAID/INMA project in order to further define the scope and
equipment needs for the revitalization of the Iraqi date industry. The focus of the report is on
strategies and financial projections for establishing Rural (date) Collection Centers and a Central
date processing facility suitable for the exporting of dates and date products. The objective is to
create a higher value and higher price for Iraqi dates and thereby increase interest in the
production and post-harvest care of dates.
The report draws upon earlier studies, including an Iraq-A Strategy for Dates, December 2007
and Date Sector Report and Value Chain Development Program, January 15, 2008, as well as
discussions with date equipment suppliers in Dubai, Italy and in (California) USA.
This report is the first step in defining processing opportunities, particularly export opportunities,
for the Iraqi date sector.

USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

IRAQ DATE SECTOR

PRE-FEASIBILITY REPORT-DATE PROCESSING
Table of Contents

USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

1.

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

BACKGROUND

An important step in the re-vitalization of the Iraqi date industry is to provide assistance in
building modern facilities and providing equipment to properly grade, process and store dates.
Over the past 25 years countries such as Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Oman have
invested in both date production and processing facilities. During this period, Iraqi faced many
challenges that, added together, greatly diminished the date industry and very limited investment
was possible for up-grading and providing facilities for the handling and processing of dates.
Background for this study can be found in the previously prepared INMA reports, Iraq- A
Strategy for Dates, and the Date Sector Study, previously noted.
The purpose of the pre-feasibility study is to outline the facilities, equipment and management
required for a modern date collection and processing facilities to service both domestic and
export markets. It is envisaged that these facilities will be developed by Iraqi and other investors
with technical and financial assistance from the USAID/INMA project.
The objective is to assist the Iraqi date industry modernize and promote at least one or two
central processing facilities that can receive raw material from Rural Collection Centers in major
date production regions.
2.

GLOBAL DATE MARKET OUTLOOK

Worldwide date production has increased exponentially over the last three decades. Starting in
1965 at about 1.85 million tons, it reached 2.7 million tons in 1985 and 7.0 million tons in 2005.
The industry turning point occurred in the early 80s, during, and immediately after the Iraq-Iran
conflict. This conflict disrupted the worldwide date supply, creating shortages on the lucrative
EU export market and in the fast-growing Asian export market.
The gap in supply and the consequent drastic rise in prices prompted other countries, notably
Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Algeria, UAE, Pakistan and Israel, to invest heavily in expanding date
palm cultivation to target the EU and Asian markets. Iran rejoined the global export market in
the late 1980s; unfortunately, Iraqi date production continued to be affected by the boycott
imposed after the 1991 invasion of Kuwait.
On the supply side, there is no correlation between production volume and importance as an
exporter. Tunisia and Israel, for example, are two top exporters to the EU, despite producing less
than 2 percent of the global date supply.

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Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

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Dates World Production Tons

Other, 1,014,537, 14%
Israel, 11,700, 0%
USA, 17,600, 0%
Tunisia, 122,000, 2%
China, 120,000, 2%

Egypt, 1,120,000, 15%

L bya, 140,000, 2%
Iran, 920,000, 13%

Oman, 238,600, 3%

Sudan, 330,000, 5%
Saudi Arabia, 830,000,
12%

Iraq, 400,000, 6%
Algeria, 420,000, 6%
UAE, 760,000, 11%
Pakistan, 650,000, 9%

Source: COMTRADE 2006 FAOSTAT - EUROSTAT

Leading importers of dates are Europe (highest market value), India (highest volume), UAE
(although data seems inconsistent, and more realistic import could be close to 50.000/60.000MT)
and other Asian countries such as Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh.
Dates: Import Countries Value $ Million Volume (000Tons) Price/kg $
EU
India
UAE* 1
Turkey
Russia
USA
Canada
Australia
Syria

188,160
74,686
33,713
8,864
10,684
8,099
14,567
9,017
7,411

68,569
286,317
196,873
10,821
20,263
6,938
8,140
6,201
23,917

Source: COMTRADE 2006

Data available only up to 2005.

2.74
0.26
0.17
0.82
0.53
1.17
1.79
1.45
0.31

USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

3.

IRAQ DATE SECTOR

3.1

Date Production in Iraq

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

Iraq has historically been one of the major date-producing countries in the world. In the 1980s
and mid-1990s, Iraq was consistently among the top five date-producing countries in the world
and often ranked number one in terms of production by volume. Into the 1990s, Iraq had 22
million date palms planted over 120,000 hectares. The production of dates in Iraq has long been
a matter of national pride.
Date Production by Governorate
Dates have always been grown nationwide in Iraq; however, commercial production of indemand varieties has always been centered in the southern governorates, with Basrah renowned
as the virtual center of the date industry worldwide. Due primarily to the Iran-Iraq war (1980 to
1988) and Saddam Husseins draining of the southern marshes (early 1990s), some of the
commercial production has shifted north of Basrah, but much still remains in the southern
governorates.
According to the most up-to-date information available, in 2001 the top five governorates in
terms of date production by volume are Babil (Babylon), Karbala, Diyala, Baghdad and Basrah.

Table 1. Date Palm Trees, Production and Productivity by Governorate in 2001

Governorate
Babil (Babylon)
Karbala
Diyala
Baghdad
Basrah
Anbar
Qadissya
Dhi-Qar
Wasit
Najaf
Salah al-Din
Maysan
Muthanna
Kirkuk (Tamim)
Total

Total no. of
trees
3,370,800
2,079,500
1,982,400
1,506,900
2,697,600
680,600
822,400
814,500
640,900
626,300
273,900
194,800
219,800
400
15,910,800

No. of fruiting
trees
3,012,500
1,894,000
1,710,300
1,347,700
2,108,600
634,400
765,300
770,600
540,000
604,300
231,800
168,700
154,800
13,943,000

Production
(tons)
227,060
128,840
123,670
108,830
73,280
50,990
49,650
47,050
39,600
24,170
17,160
8,770
7,720

Yield
(kg/tree)
75.4
68.0
72.3
80.8
34.8
80.4
64.9
61.1
73.3
40.0
74.0
52.0
49.9

906,790

Source: http://www.usaid.gov/iraq/contracts/pdf/ARDI14-IraqiDateIndustry.pdf

USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

Figure 1. Map of Governorates of Iraq

Source:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e3/Iraq_Dist.png

Date Production in Iraq by Variety

Dates can be identified by their characteristic appearance and texture and fall into three types:
soft, semi-dry and dry. The type of fruit depends on the glucose, fructose and sucrose content.
This division is based on the texture or consistency of fruit under normal conditions of ripening.

Fresh Dates boast a soft flesh, high moisture content with high sugar content.
o e.g. Khastawi and Barhee varieties

Semi-Dry Dates feature a firm flesh, fairly low moisture content and high sugar content.
o e.g. Halawi and Khadrawy varieties

Dry Dates have a high sugar content, low moisture content and dry, hard flesh.
o e.g. Zahidi and Sayer varieties

There are well over 400 varieties grown in Iraq, although the exact number of varieties of dates
is not known. Production is dominated by the Zahidi variety (dry) followed distantly by
Khastawi (fresh), Sayer (dry) and Khadrawy (semi-dry). These include the following:

USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

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Variety
Zahidi

Khastawi or
Khusatawi
Sayer or Sayir
Khadrawy

Halawi or Halawy

Barhee

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Description
Semi-dry date from Iraq. Medium size, cylindrical, light golden-brown,
very sugary, and sold as soft, medium-hard and hard. Distinguished by its
large seed in proportion to the fruit itself. This date lends itself well to
processing and softening by steam hydration. This date is known for its
high invert sugar level and is widely used to make diced dates and date
sugar products. It features a crunchy and fibrous flesh. Industrial uses.
Leading fresh date in Iraq; it is syrupy and small in size, prized for dessert.
For fresh market.
Dry. Dark orange-brown, medium size, soft and syrupy. Industrial uses.
A cultivar favored by many Arabs, it is a soft, very dark date. Ooriginally
from Iraq, it has many desirable qualities. It cures well; it ripens to amber,
then cured to a reddish brown, with a caramel like texture and a sweet
flavor. Industrial uses for export and fresh consumption locally.
Semi-dry. Extremely sweet, small to medium in size. Thick flesh,
caramel taste, and sweet, is somewhat wrinkled in appearance, with a
yellow color ripening to a light amber and then to a golden brown.
Originally from Iraq. Fresh or industrial markets.
Carmel taste, sweet, wrinkled in appearance, fresh market.

The following table is the most current information available in regards to date palm trees,
production, and productivity by variety.

Table 2. Date Palm Trees, Production and Productivity by Variety in 2001

Total No.
Total No.
Production
Bearing
Non-Bearing
(tons)
Zahidi
10,309,500
9,412,600
121,000
654,240
Khastawi
1,285,400
1,047,300
38,900
63,310
Sayer
957,200
864,000
56,700
31,780
Khadrawy
666,800
584,000
29,400
24,800
Halawi
829,100
721,000
90,100
22,300
Barhee
289,400
84,800
192,700
5,800
Other
1,573,400
1,229,300
141,300
104,560
Total
15,910,800
13,943,000
670,100
906,790
Source: http://www.usaid.gov/iraq/contracts/pdf/ARDI14-IraqiDateIndustry.pdf
Variety

No. of Palms

Production
(%)
72.1
7.0
3.5
2.7
2.5
0.6
11.5
100

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Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

Dates ripen in four stages, which are known throughout the world by their Arabic names kimri or
chimri (unripe), khalal (full-size, crunchy), rutab (ripe, soft) and tamer (ripe, sun-dried). These
stages of ripening can be described as follows:

Kimri (Chimri): first 17 weeks after pollination. The dates are green, hard, bitter, and are
80 percent moisture
Khalal: next 6 weeks when dates become full grown, although they are still very hard.
The color changes to yellow, orange or red, and sugar levels increase
Rutab: next 4 weeks the dates become half-ripe, soft, and turn to a light brown color, and
the sucrose turns to invert sugars
Tamer: dates are ripe in the last two weeks of development. The dates become soft and
sugar becomes mostly invert. Dates at this stage of development - semi-dry and dry dates
- will contain about 50 percent sucrose and invert sugar.

Dry/semi-dry dates may be picked early when their color is still light and are not fully ripe and
semi-dry dates may be picked as soon as they are soft. After picking dates can be further ripened
at temperatures of 80 to 95 degrees F. Dry dates are generally left on the palm until they are
ripe.
The principal varieties in demand for Western markets are Sayer and Zahidi dates. Halawi and
Barhee are consumed as fresh, table fruit. However, the Barhee variety has limited shelf life of
no more than one month and could not be feasibly shipped outside the Middle East. According
to European food safety standards, all other varieties are classified as common dates when
shipped to other countries. The definition of common dates, means that they are not
distinguished from all other varieties. Limited amounts of Barhee are produced.
Sayer and Zahidi are the principal varieties for industrial grade dates. These dates are
classified as dry or semi-dry dates due to their relatively low moisture content which ranges
from 10 to 14 percent.
Market Players for Fresh and Industrial Dates
Iraq is very capable of producing large quantities of premium industrial grade dates, namely
Sayer and Zahidi. Iraqs main competitors in producing industrial grade dates are Iran and
Pakistan. Iran grows both Sayers and Zahidis, especially Sayers. Pakistan grows the Aseel and
BJ, dry varieties that compete with Sayers and Zahidis.
Historical Date Production
Producing up to 900,000 metric tons annually, Iraq has often had a surplus of dates to export.
Iraq was a major player in the international market through the early 1990s, commanding a
significant portion of the world market share. But production and quality waned in the 1990s,
due to a combination of the Iran-Iraq war, draining of the southern marshes and UN-imposed
sanctions. Beginning in the early 1990s, Iraqi date exports declined dramatically and Iraq began
to lose market share. The following figure illustrates the sudden and significant decrease of Iraqi
date exports.

USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

Figure 2. Iraqi Dates: Production and Export Volumes

Source: faostat.fao.org, 1/8/2008

Production
Exports

900000

800000

700000

600000

500000
tonnes
400000

300000

200000

100000

0
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Year

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3.2

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

Marketing Systems

Domestic Consumption
Dates are a staple of the Iraqi diet and per capita consumption is considered high. Figures on
domestic consumption run from 100,000 to 350,000 tons, although there are no reliable figures
by market share or by total domestic consumption.
Dates are an important traditional crop in Iraq. Dates can be eaten out-of-hand, added to cereals,
puddings, cakes, ice cream and breads. Dry or soft dates are eaten out-of-hand, or may be pitted
and stuffed with various fillings. Dates can be processed into cubes, paste, spreads, date syrup or
dibis, powder (date sugar), vinegar or alcohol. Dates can also be dehydrated, ground and mixed
with grain to form a nutritious livestock feed.
Higher-end, fresh dates are sold in bulk in local markets in Iraq. The prices for fresh dates in the
domestic market have not been reliably collected, but can be roughly estimated to be USD 200 to
400 per ton bulk. The prices of fresh, processed, value-added dates (pitted, stuffed, packaged)
would be considerably higher.
The lowest-quality dates are sold as animal feed to the dairies, sheep herders and companies
making dibis (date syrup) and other fermented products. Low-quality dates are sold in the
domestic market for approximately USD 100 per ton. Low-quality dates are also exported at
prices of USD 75 to 150 per ton.
The Date Strategy Report indicated that there is a consensus in the Iraqi market that current
production harvested October-November 2007 may be at a historical low of only
350.000MT. This is mainly because of palm diseases due to lack of Integrated Pest Management
program (IPM), since traditional aerial spray has virtually stopped. The report made the
following best estimate on the utilization of the current date crop:
Iraq Dates Usage (2006 Est.)
Quantity wasted
Household Consumption
Export
Industrial Usage
Animal Feeding
Total Production

MT
60,000
120,000
50,000
90,000
100,000
420,000

%
14.3%
28.5%
11.9%
16.7%
35.7%
100.0%

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Domestic Market Channels and Structure

Roadside vendors, small shops, and markets of all sizes sell packaged and bulk date products
throughout Iraq. The following is a diagram of the marketing chain of dried dates (tamer) in
Iraq.

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Figure 3. Marketing Chain of Dried Dates (Tamer) in Iraq

Farmers

Jobbers/
Wholesalers

Packing Houses

Importers/
Brokers

Institutional
Users

Western
Processors/
Packers

Institutional
Users

Export Market ChannelsCurrent and Historical

Under Saddams regime, the government formed the Iraqi Date Agency, which controlled the
export of all dates. An agency was awarded to a given broker or importer for a particular
marketing area i.e. North America, Europe, Asia, etc.
Following Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), this government entity ceased to exist and Iraqi date
packers/shippers had to face the reality of the world trading system. Iraqi packers/shippers lack
the benefit of experience in this regard and were also limited by the low-quality dates and

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minimal processing capabilities. The industry currently exports little and relies mainly on two
Palestinian brokers in Dubai.
3.3

Issues and Constraints

The current condition of the Iraqi date industry and the principal issues and constraints facing the
Iraqi date industry divide into topics related to:

Farming and production practices

Harvesting and post-harvest handling
Processing and processed products
Marketing

Farming and Production Practices

It is reported that there are 150,000 date farmers in Iraq. The number of commercial date
farmers is indefinite, but we estimate that some 20,000 to 25,000 date farmers could be classed
as commercial producers. The majority of Iraqs farmers do not own the land they farm. Most
of the landowners are absentee, living in Baghdad and increasingly out of the country altogether.
The majority of date farmers are essentially sharecroppers: in exchange for tending to an
orchard, they receive a percentage of the crop and are often allowed to live on the land. The
majority of date farmers also grow other cash crops.
In Iraq, the average size of a date farm is 3 to 10 acres. Date farms are rarely more than 10 acres.
By comparison, in California 20 acres is a very small orchard and larger orchards are in excess of
100 acres. In Iraq there are larger commercial date farms, mainly in the south. Most dates
grown in the north, east and west are not commercial. Commercial date farming remains mostly
in the southern governorates. The size and number of commercial date farms in Iraq is unknown.
Farmers themselves do not have money for fertilizers, insecticides, tools or equipment. Given
that the sharecroppers are without funds for farm inputs and are lacking supervision or oversight,
they often pay little to no attention to the condition of the date trees. More money is made by
allowing herders to graze sheep in the orchards and growing row crops such as tomatoes,
cucumbers and onions, which can be sold in local markets. Consequently, date orchards suffer
tremendously in terms of quality of fruit produced and yield per hectare. Presumably the
commercial date farmers do have a tie to a date buyer or packer who provides financing for
inputs.
Harvesting Methods and Post-Harvest Handling
Lacking even the most fundamental knowledge of harvesting practices, sharecroppers revert to
the easiest way of harvesting fruit, if they even harvest at all.
Typically whole clusters of ripening or ripe fruit are simply cut off at the stem and allowed to
drop 20 or more feet to the ground. Fruit on the bottom and outside of the clusters is destroyed
outright and much of the remaining fruit is engulfed in a cloud of sand and dust that becomes

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embedded in the fruit. Fruit in this condition cannot be processed for export to Western markets
regardless of the technology or equipment in the processing plant.
Presumably there is minimal field equipment such as human hoists like cherry pickers or a
fork list with a basket to lift workers into the top of the palm to carry out insect control, pruning
and harvesting of the dates.
Minimal effort is made to properly store the harvest. Fruit is sometimes stored in sheds or
porous concrete buildings. More often the fruit is stored uncovered in open areas, although it is
sometimes stored under plastic sheeting. Under such conditions, the fruit quickly becomes
infested by insects, rapidly ferments in the hot climate and quickly deteriorates.
Processing and Processed Products
There is currently no date processing facility in Iraq that meets Western standards. The current
facilities lack the capacity to process and store dates in a hygienic and suitable environment:
there are no vacuum fumigation chambers, sorting equipment, grading equipment, machinepitting equipment, macerating equipment, paste-making equipment, dicing equipment or cold
storage adjoining processing facilities in which to store dates.
If date packers do fumigate, they simply stack boxes of dates in an enclosed room and use
Fostoxin pellets. Fostoxin requires a minimum of 48 hours to be effective. Use of Fostoxin
pellets is simply not reliable under the best of conditionsa scenario that is often not the case in
Iraq.
It is reported that no processor has a modern, efficient cold-storage room. In a makeshift effort,
a few processors use Chinese AC units mounted in enclosed concrete rooms. All of Iraq is in
desperate need of cold storage. Without adequate and proper cold storage, fruit is exposed to the
elements and pest infestation occurs within a few days, more often within several hours.
It is also reported that most of the packing is done by women working in unsanitary conditions.
Workers do not wear hairnets or latex gloves and there is no overhead lighting. Fruit is simply
scattered over tables, mostly made out of wood. No effort is made to grade or sort the fruit
according to size, color or characteristics. Pitting is by hand with small rusty knives. Workers
often nick or cut themselves in the process of removing the pit.
In packaging dates, women dip their hands in a bowl of often unclean water and sprinkle the
hand-pitted fruit with water. The dates are then pressed into 250 mg, 350 mg, and 500 mg
blocks or bricks of pressed dates using rusty, antiquated, hand-operated presses circa 1950s.
These blocks are then vacuum-wrapped in cellophane and labeled. Hand-pitted fruit is also
stuffed with nuts such as almonds, walnuts, pistachios, peanuts and cashews. The stuffing also
takes place in unsanitary and less than ideal conditions. This type of activity would traditionally
take place at a packing shed.
Iraq has not exported fruit meeting Western standards in nearly twenty years. As previously
noted, much of the low-quality fruit is exported to other countries such as India for conversion to

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animal feed or as raw material for fermentation. Under existing conditions, there is little
opportunity that Iraq will be able to ship any fruit to lucrative Western markets where quality
products receive premium prices.
Marketing
In addition to whole fruit that is sold in bulk in the local markets, cellophane-packed brick or
pressed dates seem to be the most popular retail product produced by packers. There is some
attempt by packers to brand their product with the family name on the label.
Hand-pitted fruit is also stuffed with nuts, such as almonds, walnuts, pistachios, peanuts and
cashews. At times this fruit can be packaged nicely and sold under the family name of the
packer.
Dates of all varieties in various state of ripeness (khalal, rutab, tamer) are packed in 60 kg plastic
bags and taken by Dhows to Dubai. Currently two Palestinian traders sell the dates to brokers
and importers in China, India and Malaysia. This fruit is only fit for animal consumption and
fermentation into date syrup and alcohol.
According to Mohammad Suleiman Hasan, Director General of the Iraqi Date Processing &
Marketing Company, in the 2007 season just over 50,000 metric tons of low quality dates were
exported. The profit margin earned by the Iraqi Company on these sales ranges from a USD 10
per ton loss to a maximum of a USD 20 per ton profit. Presumably additional trading profits
were earned by international exporters and distributors of the dates.
3.4

Market Opportunities for Iraqi Dates

Overview: Fresh and Industrial Dates

The market for dates is divided into dates consumed fresh, which are usually the highest quality
dates and the dates found in retail packs in Western markets, and dates that are destined for
further processing as ingredients in bakery, confectionary and other products.
Sayer and Zahidi are the principal varieties for industrial grade dates. These dates are
classified as dry or semi-dry dates due to their relatively low moisture content which ranges
from 10 to 14 percent. Fresh dates, namely Deglect Noors and Medjools found in international
markets, are classified as such due to their high moisture content of 18 to 26 percent.
The principal competition in the domestic market is local and regional supplies of dates sold or
bartered in the informal market. Local markets exist for fresh dates, pressed dates (date bricks)
and date syrup more commonly called Dibis. For exports, the principal market for the variety of
dates produced is Iraq, is the industrial or ingredient market.

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Market Players for Fresh and Industrial Dates

Iraq is currently capable of producing large quantities of premium industrial grade dates,
namely Sayer and Zahidi. Iraqs main competitors in producing industrial grade dates are Iran
and Pakistan. Iran grows both Sayer and Zahidis, especially Sayers. Pakistan grows the Aseel
and BJ, dry varieties that compete with Sayers and Zahidis.
California, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Egypt mainly produce varieties suitable for the fresh
market. Fresh variety dates are table fruit and packed accordingly for retail sale. They are not
adequate or acceptable for use as ingredients or industrial grade dates due to the high moisture
content. Even if they were, the price of secondary or cull fruit of fresh variety dates is far in
excess of the cost of premium dry-variety dates. As such, it is not economical to replace the
market for dry-variety dates with fresh-variety dates for use as ingredients or industrial grade
fruit.
Annex A contains a sample list of buyers for dried dates and date products in the USA and EU.
Further market studies can develop additional jobbers and wholesalers for these products.
Competitiveness of Dry-Date Market Competitors
Iran Iran is the major competitor to Iraqi dry-variety dates. However, Irans date export
program suffers under the weight of certain financial sanctions and constraints. Many Western
companies are hesitant to buy Iranian products due to fear of negative perceptions resulting from
country of origin labeling. Changes in Iranian government policies have resulted in the loss of
farm subsides to Iranian date farmers and it is reported that date packers are no longer provided
financial incentives such as no interest or very low interest loans. There is also direct and
indirect pressure from governments not to do business with Iran and a growing and continuing
fear of future and further sanctions being applied against Iran.
It is reported by the Persian Dried Fruit Exporter Association that Iran produces 1 million tons of
dates and 100,000 tons are exported. Iran does produce the Sayer variety of date in Khuzestan
province. The Zahedi variety grows in Fars and Bushehr provinces.
Pakistan
Recognizing the opportunity presented by the ongoing political and economic
problems of both Iran and Iraq, Pakistan began growing industrial grade dates on a commercial
basis. The result has been one of mixed success: Pakistan does not have the optimum climate
for industrial date production and catches the tail-end of the monsoon season in most years.
Dates grow best in areas where temperatures are high, humidity is very low and sufficient water
is available. High humidity and especially rainfall during and/or immediately after harvesting
causes a rapid spike in mold and insect infestation and raises the moisture content of the dates to
unacceptable levels. High moisture content in dry-variety dates will cause sugaring and even
fermentation. The FDA regulations do not allow the entry of dry-variety dates into the U.S. if
moisture content exceeds 16 percent.
Western buyers have turned to Pakistan as a supplier of last resort. Pakistan has recognized the
limited success of commercial production of dry-variety dates and has ceased new plantings of

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Agland Investment Services, Inc.

date palms. Western buyers are looking for a supplier capable of reliably shipping dry-variety
dates of consistent quality. Although Pakistan remains a competitor, they are viewed as
unreliable due to seasonal weather conditions.
Competition of Dates with Similar Products
Dates also compete with dry raisins and paste made from raisins. Another competing product is
paste made from dry figs. Fortunately, Iraqi dates are lower in cost than many of the competing
dried fruit products. Dates, as an ingredient, are considered an under-marketed product i.e.,
there has been little emphasis or active marketing to potential industrial users of dates. In
comparison there is considerable promotion by grower groups and marketers of dried fruit and
nut products such as raisins, almonds, cranberries, etc.
Market Opportunities for Iraqi Dates
Iraq is now faced with a unique opportunity to reclaim its position as the worlds largest
producer and exporter of dry-variety dates. It is reported that Western buyers will even pay
somewhat more for quality Iraqi fruit to avoid buying Iranian fruit due to the risk and potentially
negative market connotation or buying from such an unreliable supplier as Pakistan. Although
faced with many challenges, there are opportunities for Iraqis to produce the following dates and
date products in target production regions within Iraq and for different domestic and
international markets:
Whole Dates
Retail packs
Wholesale packs

Date Products
Pitted
Macerated & Pressed
Chipped and/or Diced
Paste

Value-Added Products
Date syrup (dibis)
Date vinegar
Date Energy bars
Fructose
Sorbitol and Mannitol*
*High-value, low-calorie, sugar alcohol sweeteners produced from fructose
Pricing
The FOB export price per ton for the principal products to be produced delivered to major EU
and USA markets is:

Description
Pitted dates
Date paste
Chopped/diced

Price (USD/ton)
600
850
900

From the above price, the estimated cost of transport to major markets is $150 per ton.

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Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

International Market for Date Products

As previously discussed, producers in Iran and Pakistan have developed a market for dry dates.
The market for dates as an ingredient in cereals, trail mixes, confectionary and bakery products
needs further development, as well as emphasis on Iraq as a supplier of quality product. A list of
companies purchasing processed date products in attached as Annex A.
3.4

Conclusions

The wars, sanctions and general turmoil within Iraq over the past 25 years has led to the demise
of the date industry during a period when other countries, such as Saudi Arabia, UAE and Iran,
were investing heavily in both date production and modern processing facilities, often with the
assistance of government subsidies. Fortunately, many of the Iraqi date gardens remain and can
be rehabilitated by a series of interventions that will provide appropriate farming, post-harvest
and processing, as well as marketing technology, facilities and skills to the industry.
Implementation of a Date Value-Chain Strategy
A domestic market does exist for dates and date products and, as the economy gradually
improves, a market can develop for branded, packaged dates and date products. An established
export market for date products exists in global markets if the product is processed in modern,
sanitary plants. Ingredient buyers of date products in Asia, EU, and USA can be cultivated and a
market established. The key to the rehabilitation of a date industry is to focus on producing
product for industrial date products. This requires a central processing plant.
The principal elements in a value-chain strategy will include:

Improved farming practices and higher yields to

include a focus on selected varieties

Initiation of better post-harvest handling

procedures

Processing and production of value-added

products

Export premium date product

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4.

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

DATE PRODUCTION AND POST-HARVEST CARE

Good quality raw material in volume is important to the development and modernization of the
Iraqi date industry. A date agricultural extension program is needed to provide information,
small-scale tools and assistance to farmers in important tasks such as pollination. The extension
program may initially start on a small scale and can be expanded to reach out to selected regions.
It must be remembered that currently Iraqi date farmers have little incentive to care for the date
gardens or improve date production because the price received is very low. Since there are no
facilities or systems suitable for producing a higher quality date or date product, there is no
market except for a low-quality, bulk product. Furthermore, as with many crops, the dates are
all harvested over a two-month period; this results in a market glut for two to four months and
limited supply of reasonable quality fruit for the remainder of the year.
A program to improve date farming systems and post-harvest handling is discussed in further
detail in Chapters IV and V of the Date Sector Report and Value Chain Development Program,
dated January 15, 2008. It is also reported that the Ministry of Agriculture, supported by FAO,
will initiate a five-year agricultural rehabilitation and improvement program for date producers.
Rural Collection Centers
An important element in the date improvement program is the formation of Rural Collection
Centers that are located in important date production provinces and regions. The purpose of the
Collection Center is two fold. It provides a central location to create a buying hub and initial
grading and processing of dates that have export potential and can be shipped to the Central
Processing Facility. Secondly, it is a site from which teams of Agricultural Extension Agents
can work to educate and assist farmers with improved practices in the care and harvesting of
dates. (See page 18 for Date Supply Chain in Iraq)
Development of a strategy to staff and operate the Rural Collection Centers with Iraqi owners
and managers requires further evaluation. There are two approaches to the size and activities to
be included in the Centers.
One approach is to have the Center primarily as a collection, preliminary grading and shipping
point for dates with minimum processing. The second approach is to be a collection, grading and
shipping point plus processing of lower grade fruit into date syrup (Dibis) for processing and sale
to a regional market. Both approaches need to be researched as to location, structure and market
demand for Dibis.

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Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

Date Supply Chain in Iraq

Iraqi Date Farmers
Ag
Services

Rural
Collection
Center

Ag
Services

Rural
Collection
Center

Ag
Services

Rural
Collection
Center

Rural
Collection
Center

Central
Processing
Plant

Domestic
Market

Export
Market
18

Ag
Services

Ag
Services

Rural
Collection
Center

USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

A preliminary investment budget for each approach is listed below:

Rural Collection Center-Facilities and Equipment Requirement for Rural Collection
Centers (excluding working capital)
Capacity Assumptions: Receive 4,000 tons per year, 2,000 tons graded and approved for
shipment to Central Processing Plant; remainder for local sale or export as animal feed, etc.

Basic Design
Description
Warehouse Building, grading shed and ripening area
Office furniture and computer
Scales
Grading Tables
Plastic Totes 5,000 @$4.00 ea.
Pick-up Truck(s) 2 @ $25,000
Agricultural Services Equipment
Pollen Processing machine
Pollen Application (atomizer)
Hand tools, ladders, drills etc.
Portable Generator
Misc.
Annual Materials required
Fostoxin-date fumigant
Plastic bags
Dubas control-Phosphine
Note: Agricultural Services Team will charge farmers for
treatment of date palms
Subtotal Basic Design Investment

19

Cost (USD)
140,000
8,000
5,000
30,000
20,000
50,000
10,000
15,000
5,000
10,000
20,000

20,000

333,000

USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

Expanded Rural Collection Center

(Basic Equipment plus Dibis Processing Capability)
Description
Screened, hygienic building
Cold Storage Containers
Option: use 3 or 4 -20 ton refrigerated containers
Generator
(back-up electricity for processing and cold storage)
Dibis Processing line
(based on equipment from Gulf supplier)
Storage tanks
Filling equipment
Misc.
Subtotal Expanded Rural Collection Center
Subtotal Basic Facility
Total Basic Investment and Date Syrup Production

5.

Cost (USD)
100,000
80,000
20,000
500,000
60,000
60,000
70,000
890,000
333,000
1,223,000

CENTRAL DATE PROCESSING FACILITIES

The central processing facility plays an important role in the preservation of date quality and
production of products having an international market. The general specifications and
assumptions for such a plant are summarized in this section.
Raw Material Supply
Project Phase
Phase I
Phase II
Phase III

Project Year
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Following Years

Raw Material Supply (MT)

6,000
12,000
20,000
25,000
25,000 plus
Liquid Sugar Production

For Phase II and III additional storage and equipment will be required. As the plant gains
experience in years 1 and 2, new efficiencies will be found that will make the plant more
productive and operating costs lower.
Date Varieties
The two primary varieties to be collected and processed are Zahidi and the Sayer varieties.
Additional varieties can be added as market opportunities develop, particularly for fresh date
consumption (fresh dates are perishable).

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Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

Primary Products and Pricing

The processed product mix is:
Product

CIF Price per Ton

(USD/ton)

Market Share (%)

Pitted dry
Chopped and diced
Paste and other products

65
25
10

750
1,000
1,050

Plant Location
In order to achieve security, support services and be close to a port the plant will be located in
the Zubair Free Trade Zone near Basrah. The plant is located near the port of Qum Qasar.
Raw Material Collection Option
Dates are produced over a wide area. It is proposed (see Date Sector Report and Value Chain
Development Program) that 5 Rural Date Collection Centers be established initially as regional
grading and collection centers for dates, with the highest quality dates being shipped to the
central date processing center, primarily for export. It is assumed that a network of 25 Date
Collection Centers could be established over 5-7 years.
For planning purposes it is assumed that each Date Collection Center would handle, at full
production, 2000 tons of fruit in a season and 1000 tons would be sold to the Central Processing
Plant. The other 1000 tons would be bagged and marketed locally or sold overseas as low
quality product i.e., India being a major buyer. Another option is to increase the capacity and
build and equip the Date Collection Center to produce date syrup for the regional market.
A local Iraqi date wholesaler or entrepreneur, experienced and focused on a specific region, is
required to become the developer of the rural Date Collection Center. He will have the best idea
of what is needed in terms of building and equipment to handle the volume and products for the
market. The Center also becomes the best location to provide agronomic and pest control
services to the local date growers.
5.1

Central Processing Facility

Pre-graded fruit will arrive in plastic tote bins, weighed (for determination of payment) and will
again be inspected/graded and segregated by variety and end use in the processing plant. The
fruit is then fumigated and put into cold storage.
Fumigation capacity is a key determinant of processing capacity. A chamber holds 4 metric tons
and requires 4 hours per cycle. The plant will have 4 chambers and will provide, over 24 hours,
the ability to fumigate 80 tons per day. In the event there is not capacity to fumigate during the
peak of the harvest season, the fruit is put into a segregated cold storage.

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Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

During the harvest season fumigated fruit can go directly into the processing plant, and a
minimum of two-shifts is required. Excess fruit goes into cold storage for future processing.
The objective is to only bring clean, fumigated fruit into the processing facility in order to
maintain quality control over the process, and prevent re-infestation of fruit.
The objective is also to process, at full production, 2000 to 3000 tons per month of fruit over a
10-month season (cold storage is used to hold fruit prior to processing as well as storage for
processed fruit). Two shifts will be required for part of the year.
The plant will be able to handle 12,000 tons in year two and thereafter management will evaluate
what further equipment and storage is needed to expand to 25,000 tons. Much of the equipment
may be suitable for the larger volume but additional storage and pitting equipment will be
required. The real and potential demand from industrial customers will be known and better
understood after two years of operation, and it will be possible to introduce new date products to
meet the demand. Initially, buyers are going to be skeptical of buying product from Iraq. It will
be important for the processor to prove himself to key customers, as a bakery or confectionary
company depends on delivery of what may be a minor ingredient but an important ingredient i.e.,
one poor ingredient spoils the whole product.
5.2

Primary Date Products

Product will be washed, graded for size and quality on belts, and then channeled to three lines for
further processing. The end products are discussed in this section which includes pitted dates,
pressed date blocks, chopped/diced dates and date paste.
Pitted Dates
Sixty five percent of the fruit will be for pitting (it is important to start with uniform sizes).
Semi-automatic machines manufactured by Sovimp, Italy, are proposed to be utilized for pitting
as buyers are increasingly interested in fruit where sanitation is maintained by lack of human
hands handling or cutting the fruit. The machines are small and require two operators per
machine. The machines have the advantage of being able to be used with different date varieties.
Each machine has a capacity of 30 kgs per hour. The heavy usage of hand labor makes the large
scale pitting of this product uneconomic in the EU and Western markets.
Fruit is fed into the machines manually (gloved hands). Dates are preferably pitted when taken
from cold storage at a temperature of 4o C.
There is an automatic pitting machine manufactured for dates, but it is engineered for the Delget
Noir variety and the manufacturer does not recommend it for other varieties.
A large area of the plant floor will be devoted to this activity and fruit will again pass through an
inspection belt prior to bulk packing in 10 or 12.5 kg. telescopic cartons.

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Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

Pressed Date Blocks

Pitted dates can be pressed into blocks and are found in local markets. This type of product is
primarily used for home cooking, and is often produced in small volumes under poor conditions.
It is a product that can be marketed locally and in the Gulf region.
In domestic and Gulf markets there is a demand for pressed or brick dates in 250, 375 and 500
gram cello packs.
Chopped/Diced Dates
Fruit can be mechanically pitted by utilizing a macerator. This method of processing removes
the pit by squeezing the pit out between two counter rotating wheels. Date flesh is crushed and
shredded in the process. This product can then be fed into a dicing machine to make
chopped/diced product an coated with dextrose or oat flour, put through screen shakers to
remove excess coating material and packed in 10 or 12.5 kilo telescopic cartons. This type of
product is often found in trail mixes.
Date Paste
Macerated fruit can also be fed into a paste making-machine to produce date paste. This is a
product that can be modified to fit the needs of industrial users. This product can be produced
once specialized buyers are identified, in order that it can be produced to meet their
specifications.
Fresh Dates and Whole Fruit
The market for fancy grade fruit for the domestic and regional market can be packed by hand.
This is the primary product seen in retail stores and little equipment is required, as it primarily
requires hand labor. Preferably a local demand for such a product will have to be found and
most of the date varieties do not lend themselves to this market. This may become a product
produced in the Date Collection Centers.
5.3

Facilities and Equipment

Building
A processing plant is planned and will be built to meet EU specifications for food processing
plants. The primary structure is the cold storage warehouse that is used to maintain the quality of
both un-processed and processed fruit. It is important that the warehouse be built in sections in
order to keep un-processed and processed fruit in different chambers.
Central Date Processing Equipment List and Budget
A list of equipment for the Central processing plant is summarized below:

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Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

Item Description
Land in Industrial Park
Fruit Reception
Preliminary inspection
Fumigation chambers
Tote boxes: 12,000 @ $4.00
Tote box washer
Fruit Processing
Dumping, Washing, drying and sorting line
Line 1- Pitted dates
Sizer
Semi-automatic pitting
55 machines @$15,000 ea
Grading
Packaging
Line 2- Date maceration and paste
Packaging/case carton (vacuum pack)
Line 3- Date bits and pieces
Date dicer
Date dehydrator or hydrator
Packaging (by hand)
Automatic rotary stretch wrapper
Subtotal, processing equipment

Cost (USD)
Long term lease
200,000
900,000
48,000
150,000
500,000
280,000
825,000
200,000
200,000
1,200,000
100,000
70,000
600,000
50,000
50,000
5,373,000

Central Date Processing Buildings

Building Description
Fruit Reception Area
Cold Storage & dry storage
40,000 sq. ft. cold storage @ $70
10,000 sq. ft dry storage @ $30
Processing and office
20,000 sq. ft. @ $60
Garage and maintenance
5,000 sq. ft. @ $30
Subtotal, buildings

Cost (USD)
50,000
2,800,000
300,000
1,200,000
150,000
4,500,00

Other Equipment and Installation

Description
Equipment Installation
Laboratory equipment
Trucks
10 ton Truck -1
Pick-up trucks-3

Cost (USD)
500,000
20,000
50,000
75,000

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Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

Fork lifts- 2
Stand-by Generator
Subtotal, other equipment

100,000
80,000
825,000

Description
TOTAL, ALL EQUIPMENT
TOTAL, ALL BUILDINGS
GRAND TOTAL

Cost (USD)
6,198,000
4,500,000
10,698,000

Annex B contains photos of specific equipment utilized in date processing plants.

Plant Capacity
For the first two years, 12,000 tons will be processed and will be increased by year 4 to 25,000
tons, with an estimated additional investment of $2,000,000 in equipment. Improved efficiency
and market feed-back information will influence the equipment required and products produced.
The cost of the processing equipment is dependent on the products to be produced. The list
should be considered an initial plan and be finalized in the feasibility stage through further
evaluation by a food plant engineer, utilizing information from equipment suppliers and
matching it with further market information.
Plant and Equipment Layout
Summarized in the following flow diagram for the date processing and factory floor plan is the
equipment layout for the processing plant. (See page 27).
Labor
In the initial two years, the plant is designed to maximize use of labor and it is estimated that the
plant will employ 160 women in each shift and assume two shifts during the harvest season,
primarily working at tasks related to date pit removal with the assistance of machines, grading
and sorting.
The plant will also require 48 male workers in each shift. Phase I will operate on a one-shift
basis
Utilities
The advantage of being in the Industrial Park is the availability and hopefully the reliability of
key utilities such as water, electricity and propane. It is assumed that disposal of waste water,
primarily wash water, will be available within the Industrial Park.

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Agland Investment Services, Inc.

As yet, it has not been possible to obtain a tour of the Industrial Park and obtain information on
terms and conditions. It may be possible for the Industrial Park to provide a suitable building for
the processing center.
Packaging Material
Most of the packaging material is available in the Gulf region. The use of fully automatic
machines, which are expensive, is not planned. Semi-automatic equipment will be used. The
cost of packaging is estimated to be 6% of the cost of production.
Management and Administration
The key to a successful operation is not so much the buildings and equipment but the
management that will operate the plan. Several of the positions, such as General Manager,
Processing Manager and Marketing Manager are likely to be expatriates the first two years of
operation, in order to take advantage of knowledge gained from date processing in other
countries. The remaining positions should be filled by Iraqi staff, either currently in the country
or located outside of Iraq (it has been indicated by others that there are Iraqis working in the Gulf
that could be hired for key positions). It is estimated that the budget for expatriate managers will
be $600,000 and for Iraqi managers $700,000.

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Agland Investment Services, Inc.

Plant and Equipment Layout

27

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Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

Please see pages 29, 30 and 31 for the factory organization chart and the overall flow chart and
diagram for the collection of dates for processing.
Environment
The utilization of chemicals in date growing and harvesting will have to be checked with local,
USA and EU regulations. Also, the chemicals can be evaluated as to what is approved in Gulf
countries and how chemicals are used. The reduction or elimination of aerial spraying will have
a positive impact on the environment.

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Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

Central Date Processing: Functional Organization Chart

Board of
Directors

General
Manager

Assistant
General Manager

Advisors

Raw Material
Procurement

Cold Storage

Engineering

Processing

Maintenance

Shipping

29

Quality
Control

Finance and
Accounting

Marketing

USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

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Agland Investment Services, Inc.

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Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

6.

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

FINANCIAL PROJECTION

A financial projection was prepared based on the best estimate of equipment and operating costs
for a date processing facility with an annual capacity of 25,000 tons, and a facility that would
meet generally accepted international standards for hygiene and quality specifications.
6.1

Investment

The total investment is estimated to be $10.7 million and it would be located in an Industrial
Park near Basrah. The building would include facilities for the processing lines and would
include a 10,000 sq. ft. dry storage building and a 40,000 sq. ft. cold storage building. These
buildings would allow proper storage of dates in order to have an extended processing season.
6.2

Production

The primary product (65%) is pitted dates and the highest quality product from this product line
can be selected to be packed as a fresh date product. The other two products, chopped and diced
dates and date paste, are utilized by food manufactures as ingredients.
6.3

Financial Return

Two assumptions were utilized in the preparation of 12-year financial projections:

100% equity financing
5% equity (approximately) and 95% subsidized debt
The initial year of operation generates a loss; followed by a modest operating profit in year 2 and
profitability is reached in year 3. In year 4 the projected profit, assuming 100% equity financing,
is $5.1 million on sales of $16.4 million.
The 100% equity financing internal rate of return (npv) is 25%. For the debt financed project the
rate of return (npv) is, as would be expected, significantly higher reaching 39%.

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Agland Investment Services, Inc.

Iraq Central Date Processing Facility (No Loan)

Updated 4-4-08

ROI Summary
Equity IRR
Equity NPV $

25%
12,017,574

Volumes and product mix

Total raw material
Volume with yield loss
Pitted dates net volume
Chopped dates net volume
Date paste net volume

15%
65%
25%
10%

CIF price (US$/MT)

Base price CIF

Pitted dates $
Chopped dates $
Date paste $
Gross Revenue
Operating cost assumptions
Raw material costs
Expatriate managers
Iraqi managers
Plant labor
Packaging
Transportation/shipping costs
Utility costs
Land lease cost
Financial assumptions
Tax rate
Depreciation
Discount rate (equity)
Working capital requirements
Debt financing
Cost of Debt
Reimbursement periods
Loan duration
Allow tax credit?

$
$
$
$
$
$
$

750
1,000
1,050

175
600,000
700,000
728,000
100
150
150,000

0 0%
15
15 0%
50%
2 0%
1
10

no

Debt percent

Year
in metric tons
yield loss
% of volume
% of volume
% of volume

1
6,000
5,100
3,315
829
83

Increase yrs 1-5

5%
5%
5%

$
$
$
$

1
750 $
1,000 $
1,050 $
3,402,019

0%

Enter debt amount under "Financial assumptions," further below.

2
12,000
10,200
6,630
1,658
166

3
20,000
17,000
11,050
2,763
276

4
25,000
21,250
13,813
3,453
345

5
25,000
21,250
13,813
3,453
345

6
25,000
21,250
13,813
3,453
345

7
25,000
21,250
13,813
3,453
345

8
25,000
21,250
13,813
3,453
345

9
25,000
21,250
13,813
3,453
345

10
25,000
21,250
13,813
3,453
345

11
25,000
21,250
13,813
3,453
345

12
25,000
21,250
13,813
3,453
345

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
788 $
827 $
868 $
912 $
912 $
912 $
912 $
912 $
912 $
912 $
912
1,050 $
1,103 $
1,158 $
1,216 $
1,216 $
1,216 $
1,216 $
1,216 $
1,216 $
1,216 $
1,216
1,103 $
1,158 $
1,216 $
1,276 $
1,276 $
1,276 $
1,276 $
1,276 $
1,276 $
1,276 $
1,276
7,144,239
12,502,419
16,409,425
17,229,896
17,229,896
17,229,896
17,229,896
17,229,896
17,229,896
17,229,896
17,229,896

per ton purchased

Fixed for the first two years
Fixed
Computed at 208 workers x yearly salary of US$3,500, starting Year 1. Note: Iraq GDP/capita is US$2,000 or US$3,600 at PPP.
Per ton commercialized product
International (CIF) shipping cost per ton from processing plant
Assumption of $300,000 for 1 HA size plant. Proposed plant is 0.5 HA.
To be determined
Assumption of free trade zone
years, straight line
% of Year 1 tot. operating cost:
$ 2,251,500
Amount funded by debt
6%, with Iraqi gov. subsidizing 4% of interest
times / year
years
yes
= negative income provides tax credit
no
= negative income, no tax credit

Capital structure:
Equity investment
Debt financing
Total financing required:

$ 14,050,481
$
$ 14,050,481

Uses of funds:
Investment in PP&E
Financing for operations
Total:

$ 12,898,000
$ 1,152,481
$ 14,050,481

33

100%
0%

Investment to cover cash shortfall in initial years

USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

Discounted Cash Flow Analysis

Year

Gross Revenue
Operating costs:
Raw material
Expatriate managers
Iraqi managers
Plant labor
Packaging
Shipping/transport costs
Utilities
Land lease cost
Total operating costs:
Operating income (EBITDA)
Margin %
Financing cash flows:
Change in working capital
Debt financing available (positive cashflow)
Debt service (principal + interest)

$
$

1
3,402,019

3
12,502,419

4
16,409,425

5
17,229,896

6
17,229,896

7
17,229,896

8
17,229,896

9
17,229,896

10
17,229,896

11
17,229,896

12
17,229,896

$ (1,050,000)
$
(600,000)
$
(700,000)
$
(728,000)
$
(510,000)
$
(765,000)
$
(150,000)
$
$ (4,503,000)

(2,100,000)
(600,000)
(700,000)
(728,000)
(1,020,000)
(1,530,000)
(150,000)
(6,828,000)

(3,500,000)

(4,375,000)

(4,375,000)

(4,375,000)

(4,375,000)

(4,375,000)

(4,375,000)

(4,375,000)

(4,375,000)

(4,375,000)

(700,000)
(728,000)
(1,700,000)
(2,550,000)
(150,000)
(9,328,000)

(700,000)
(728,000)
(2,125,000)
(3,187,500)
(150,000)
(11,265,500)

(700,000)
(728,000)
(2,125,000)
(3,187,500)
(150,000)
(11,265,500)

(700,000)
(728,000)
(2,125,000)
(3,187,500)
(150,000)
(11,265,500)

(700,000)
(728,000)
(2,125,000)
(3,187,500)
(150,000)
(11,265,500)

(700,000)
(728,000)
(2,125,000)
(3,187,500)
(150,000)
(11,265,500)

(700,000)
(728,000)
(2,125,000)
(3,187,500)
(150,000)
(11,265,500)

(700,000)
(728,000)
(2,125,000)
(3,187,500)
(150,000)
(11,265,500)

(700,000)
(728,000)
(2,125,000)
(3,187,500)
(150,000)
(11,265,500)

(700,000)
(728,000)
(2,125,000)
(3,187,500)
(150,000)
(11,265,500)

$ (1,100,981)
-32%

316,239
4%

3,174,419
25%

5,143,925
31%

5,964,396
35%

5,964,396
35%

5,964,396
35%

5,964,396
35%

5,964,396
35%

5,964,396
35%

5,964,396
35%

5,964,396
35%

(2,251,500)
-

2,251,500
$

Investment cash flows:

Equipment
Buildings

$
$

$ (12,949,500) $ (1,100,981)

$ (2,200,000)

$ (1,100,981)
$
(713,200)
$
$ (1,814,181)
$
-

Equity Free Cash Flow

(6,198,000)
(4,500,000)

Tax computation:
EBITDA
Depreciation
Interest expense
Taxable income
Tax (can choose to allow tax credit)

Equity IRR
Equity NPV

2
7,144,239

316,239
(713,200)
(396,961)
-

3,174,419
(859,867)
2,314,552
-

5,143,925
(859,867)
4,284,058
-

5,964,396
(859,867)
5,104,529
-

5,964,396
(859,867)
5,104,529
-

5,964,396
(859,867)
5,104,529
-

5,964,396
(859,867)
5,104,529
-

5,964,396
(859,867)
5,104,529
-

5,964,396
(859,867)
5,104,529
-

5,964,396
(859,867)
5,104,529
-

316,239

974,419

5,143,925

5,964,396

5,964,396

5,964,396

5,964,396

5,964,396

5,964,396

8,215,896

5,964,396
(859,867)
5,104,529
39,762,640

25%
12,017,574

Debt amortization
Yearly payment
Interest expense
Principal balance

Year

Depreciation table (B/S)

Beginning PP&E on Balance Sheet (B/S)
PP&E investment
Year 1 PP&E depreciation schedule
Year 2 PP&E depreciation schedule
Year 3 PP&E depreciation schedule
Year 4 PP&E depreciation schedule
Year 5 PP&E depreciation schedule
Annual depreciation expense
Ending PP&E on Balance Sheet

Year

0
$

1
$
$

0
$

10

11

12

10,698,000

10,698,000

1
10,698,000
713,200

2
9,984,800
713,200
-

3
9,271,600
2,200,000
713,200
146,667

4
10,611,733
713,200
146,667
-

713,200
9,984,800

713,200
9,271,600

859,867
10,611,733

859,867
9,751,867

34

5
9,751,867
713,200
146,667
859,867
8,892,000

6
8,892,000
713,200
146,667
859,867
8,032,133

7
8,032,133
713,200
146,667
859,867
7,172,267

8
7,172,267
713,200
146,667
859,867
6,312,400

9
6,312,400
713,200
146,667
859,867
5,452,533

10
5,452,533
713,200
146,667
859,867
4,592,667

11
4,592,667
713,200
146,667
859,867
3,732,800

12
3,732,800
713,200
146,667
859,867
2,872,933

USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

Investment items for processing facility

Land in Industrial Park

long term lease

Equipment
Fruit Reception
Preliminary inspection
Fumigation chambers
Tote boxes 12,000 @ $4.00
Tote box washer
Fruit Processing
Dumping, Washing, drying and sorting line
Line 1- Pitted dates
Sizer
Semi-automatic pitting
55 machines @$15,000 ea
Grading
Packaging
Line 2- Date maceration and paste
Packaging/case carton (vacuum pack)
Line 3- Date bits and pieces
Date dicer
Date dehydrator or hydrator
Packaging (by hand)
Automatic rotary stretch wrapper
Sub total, processing equipment

$200,000
900,000
48,000
150,000
500,000
280,000
825,000
200,000
200,000
1,200,000
100,000
70,000
600,000
50,000
50,000
$

Central Date Processing Buildings

Fruit Reception Area
Cold Storage & dry storage
40,000 sq. ft. cold storage @ $70
10,000 sq. ft dry storage @ $30
Processing and office
20,000 sq. ft. @ $60
Garage and maintenance
5,000 sq. ft. @ $30

50,000
2,800,000
300,000
1,200,000
150,000
$

Sub total, buildings

35

5,373,000

4,500,000

USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

Other equipment and installation

Equipment Installation
Laboratory equipment
Trucks
10 ton Truck -1
Pick-up trucks-3
Fork lifts- 2
Stand-by Generator

500,000
20,000
50,000
75,000
100,000
80,000

Sub-total, other equipment

825,000

TOTAL, ALL EQUIPMENT

6,198,000

TOTAL, ALL BUILDINGS

4,500,000

GRAND TOTAL

10,698,000

2,200,000

Note: Additional equipment investment required in year 3:

36

USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

Iraq Central Date Processing Facility (with Loan)

Updated 4-4-08

ROI Summary
Equity IRR
Equity NPV $
Volumes and product mix
Total raw material
Volume with yield loss
Pitted dates net volume
Chopped dates net volume
Date paste net volume

15%
65%
25%
10%

CIF price (US$/MT)

Base price CIF

Pitted dates $
Chopped dates $
Date paste $
Gross Revenue
Operating cost assumptions
Raw material costs
Expatriate managers
Iraqi managers
Plant labor
Packaging
Transportation/shipping costs
Utility costs
Land lease cost
Financial assumptions
Tax rate
Depreciation
Discount rate (equity)
Working capital requirements
Debt financing
Cost of Debt
Reimbursement periods
Loan duration
Allow tax credit?

39%
16,430,354

$
$
$
$
$
$
$

750
1,000
1,050

175
600,000
700,000
728,000
100
150
150,000

0 0%
15
15 0%
50%
10,000,000
2 0%
1
10
no

Debt percent

Year
in metric tons
yield loss
% of volume
% of volume
% of volume

1
6,000
5,100
3,315
829
83

Increase yrs 1-5

5%
5%
5%

$
$
$
$

1
750 $
1,000 $
1,050 $
3,402,019

62%

Enter debt amount under "Financial assumptions," further below.

2
12,000
10,200
6,630
1,658
166

3
20,000
17,000
11,050
2,763
276

4
25,000
21,250
13,813
3,453
345

5
25,000
21,250
13,813
3,453
345

6
25,000
21,250
13,813
3,453
345

7
25,000
21,250
13,813
3,453
345

8
25,000
21,250
13,813
3,453
345

9
25,000
21,250
13,813
3,453
345

10
25,000
21,250
13,813
3,453
345

11
25,000
21,250
13,813
3,453
345

12
25,000
21,250
13,813
3,453
345

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
788 $
827 $
868 $
912 $
912 $
912 $
912 $
912 $
912 $
912 $
912
1,050 $
1,103 $
1,158 $
1,216 $
1,216 $
1,216 $
1,216 $
1,216 $
1,216 $
1,216 $
1,216
1,103 $
1,158 $
1,216 $
1,276 $
1,276 $
1,276 $
1,276 $
1,276 $
1,276 $
1,276 $
1,276
7,144,239
12,502,419
16,409,425
17,229,896
17,229,896
17,229,896
17,229,896
17,229,896
17,229,896
17,229,896
17,229,896

per ton purchased

Fixed for the first two years
Fixed
Computed at 208 workers x yearly salary of US$3,500, starting Year 1. Note: Iraq GDP/capita is US$2,000 or US$3,600 at PPP.
Per ton commercialized product
International (CIF) shipping cost per ton from processing plant
Assumption of $300,000 for 1 HA size plant. Proposed plant is 0.5 HA.
To be determined
Assumption of free trade zone
years, straight line
% of Year 1 tot. operating cost:
$ 2,251,500
Amount funded by debt
6%, with Iraqi gov. subsidizing 4% of interest
times / year
years
yes
= negative income provides tax credit
no
= negative income, no tax credit

Capital structure:
Equity investment
Debt financing
Total financing required:

$ 6,099,619
$ 10,000,000
$ 16,099,619

Uses of funds:
Investment in PP&E
Financing for operations
Total:

$ 12,898,000
$ 3,201,619
$ 16,099,619

37

38%
62%

Investment to cover cash shortfall in initial years

USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

Discounted Cash Flow Analysis

Year

Gross Revenue
Operating costs:
Raw material
Expatriate managers
Iraqi managers
Plant labor
Packaging
Shipping/transport costs
Utilities
Land lease cost
Total operating costs:
Operating income (EBITDA)
Margin %
Financing cash flows:
Change in working capital
Debt financing available (positive cashflow)
Debt service (principal + interest)

$
$

Investment cash flows:

Equipment
Buildings

$
$

Equity Free Cash Flow

1
3,402,019

3
12,502,419

4
16,409,425

5
17,229,896

6
17,229,896

7
17,229,896

8
17,229,896

9
17,229,896

10
17,229,896

11
17,229,896

12
17,229,896

$ (1,050,000)
$
(600,000)
$
(700,000)
$
(728,000)
$
(510,000)
$
(765,000)
$
(150,000)
$
$ (4,503,000)

(2,100,000)
(600,000)
(700,000)
(728,000)
(1,020,000)
(1,530,000)
(150,000)
(6,828,000)

(3,500,000)

(4,375,000)

(4,375,000)

(4,375,000)

(4,375,000)

(4,375,000)

(4,375,000)

(4,375,000)

(4,375,000)

(4,375,000)

(700,000)
(728,000)
(1,700,000)
(2,550,000)
(150,000)
(9,328,000)

(700,000)
(728,000)
(2,125,000)
(3,187,500)
(150,000)
(11,265,500)

(700,000)
(728,000)
(2,125,000)
(3,187,500)
(150,000)
(11,265,500)

(700,000)
(728,000)
(2,125,000)
(3,187,500)
(150,000)
(11,265,500)

(700,000)
(728,000)
(2,125,000)
(3,187,500)
(150,000)
(11,265,500)

(700,000)
(728,000)
(2,125,000)
(3,187,500)
(150,000)
(11,265,500)

(700,000)
(728,000)
(2,125,000)
(3,187,500)
(150,000)
(11,265,500)

(700,000)
(728,000)
(2,125,000)
(3,187,500)
(150,000)
(11,265,500)

(700,000)
(728,000)
(2,125,000)
(3,187,500)
(150,000)
(11,265,500)

(700,000)
(728,000)
(2,125,000)
(3,187,500)
(150,000)
(11,265,500)

$ (1,100,981)
-32%

316,239
4%

3,174,419
25%

5,143,925
31%

5,964,396
35%

5,964,396
35%

5,964,396
35%

5,964,396
35%

5,964,396
35%

5,964,396
35%

5,964,396
35%

5,964,396
35%

$ (1,113,265)

(1,113,265)

(1,113,265)

(1,113,265)

(1,113,265)

(1,113,265)

(1,113,265)

(1,113,265)

(1,113,265)

(1,113,265)

(2,251,500)
10,000,000

2,251,500

(6,198,000)
(4,500,000)

Tax computation:
EBITDA
Depreciation
Interest expense
Taxable income
Tax (can choose to allow tax credit)

Equity IRR
Equity NPV

2
7,144,239

(2,949,500)

0
(1,113,265)

$ (2,200,000)

$ (1,100,981)
$
(713,200)
$
(200,000)
$ (2,014,181)
$
-

316,239
(713,200)
(181,735)
(578,695)
-

3,174,419
(859,867)
(163,104)
2,151,448
-

5,143,925
(859,867)
(144,101)
4,139,957
-

5,964,396
(859,867)
(124,718)
4,979,812
-

5,964,396
(859,867)
(104,947)
4,999,583
-

5,964,396
(859,867)
(84,780)
5,019,749
-

5,964,396
(859,867)
(64,211)
5,040,319
-

5,964,396
(859,867)
(43,229)
5,061,300
-

5,964,396
(859,867)
(21,829)
5,082,701
-

5,964,396
(859,867)
5,104,529
-

(2,214,247)

(797,026)

(138,846)

4,030,660

4,851,131

4,851,131

4,851,131

4,851,131

4,851,131

4,851,131

8,215,896

5,964,396
(859,867)
5,104,529
39,762,640

39%
16,430,354

Debt amortization
Yearly payment
Interest expense
Principal balance

Year

Depreciation table (B/S)

Beginning PP&E on Balance Sheet (B/S)
PP&E investment
Year 1 PP&E depreciation schedule
Year 2 PP&E depreciation schedule
Year 3 PP&E depreciation schedule
Year 4 PP&E depreciation schedule
Year 5 PP&E depreciation schedule
Annual depreciation expense
Ending PP&E on Balance Sheet

Year

1
$
$

0
$

10,698,000

10,698,000

10

200,000
9,086,735

181,735
8,155,204

163,104
7,205,043

144,101
6,235,879

124,718
5,247,331

104,947
4,239,012

84,780
3,210,527

64,211
2,161,472

43,229
1,091,437

21,829
-

1
10,698,000
713,200

2
9,984,800
713,200
-

3
9,271,600
2,200,000
713,200
146,667

4
10,611,733
713,200
146,667
-

713,200
9,984,800

713,200
9,271,600

859,867
10,611,733

859,867
9,751,867

5
9,751,867
713,200
146,667
859,867
8,892,000

6
8,892,000
713,200
146,667
859,867
8,032,133

7
8,032,133
713,200
146,667
859,867
7,172,267

8
7,172,267
713,200
146,667
859,867
6,312,400

9
6,312,400
713,200
146,667
859,867
5,452,533

10
5,452,533
713,200
146,667
859,867
4,592,667

38

11

12
-

11
4,592,667
713,200
146,667
859,867
3,732,800

12
3,732,800
713,200
146,667
859,867
2,872,933

USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

Investment items for processing facility

Land in Industrial Park

long term lease

Equipment
Fruit Reception
Preliminary inspection
Fumigation chambers
Tote boxes 12,000 @ $4.00
Tote box washer
Fruit Processing
Dumping, Washing, drying and sorting line
Line 1- Pitted dates
Sizer
Semi-automatic pitting
55 machines @$15,000 ea
Grading
Packaging
Line 2- Date maceration and paste
Packaging/case carton (vacuum pack)
Line 3- Date bits and pieces
Date dicer
Date dehydrator or hydrator
Packaging (by hand)
Automatic rotary stretch wrapper
Sub total, processing equipment

$200,000
900,000
48,000
150,000
500,000
280,000
825,000
200,000
200,000
1,200,000
100,000
70,000
600,000
50,000
50,000
$

Central Date Processing Buildings

Fruit Reception Area
Cold Storage & dry storage
40,000 sq. ft. cold storage @ $70
10,000 sq. ft dry storage @ $30
Processing and office
20,000 sq. ft. @ $60
Garage and maintenance
5,000 sq. ft. @ $30

50,000
2,800,000
300,000
1,200,000
150,000
$

Sub total, buildings

39

5,373,000

4,500,000

USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

Other equipment and installation

Equipment Installation
Laboratory equipment
Trucks
10 ton Truck -1
Pick-up trucks-3
Fork lifts- 2
Stand-by Generator

500,000
20,000
50,000
75,000
100,000
80,000

Sub-total, other equipment

825,000

TOTAL, ALL EQUIPMENT

6,198,000

TOTAL, ALL BUILDINGS

4,500,000

GRAND TOTAL

10,698,000

2,200,000

Note: Additional equipment investment required in year 3:

40

USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

7.

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

PHASED DATE VALUE CHAIN DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

A date industry improvement program needs to be implemented in phases, as do the processing

facilities. The following is a sample work program of project activities and objectives:
Timeline
See next page for timeline.

41

USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

ACTIVITY TIMELINE
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

Activity
Finalize investment plans for Rural Collection Centers and Central Date Processing Plant
Finalize plans for agricultural Farm Service Teams to provide extension support for date farmers
Prepare equipment and building specifications for the date processing center and seek bids
Form Iraqi company with appropriate investors to own and operate the date processing center
Identify sites and initiate one or two model rural date collection centers supported by date
Farm Services Teams
Meet with Iraqi date industry leaders and entrepreneurs to discuss development plan for the
date industry and define their role
Prepare a Work Order for a multi-year Date Industry Rehabilitation Plan
Contract for date processing equipment and building, including cold storage
Initiate three to four additional date collection centers supported by date Farm Services Teams
Equipment arrives for Central Date Processing Center
Identify and hire key management staff for date processing center
Complete date processing center and commission
Develop date procurement program for the date processing center
Operate date processing center for 2009 harvest
Initiate Iraqi date market development campaign
Prepare Work Program for 2010 and 2011
Evaluate other value-added processed date products to be added to the processing center

1
X
X

Project Month
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X

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USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

8.

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

NEXT STEP

The next step is to prepare a more detailed feasibility study with a particular focus on market
opportunities, plant engineering and finance.
8.1

Market Opportunities

It is difficult to obtain public information on the market for processed date products. Additional
contacts directly with buyers are needed to identify specific markets both for domestic and
export markets. For export markets, a market research study is required before a feasibility study
can be completed in order to verify product, product specifications and pricing.
The establishment of a date processing facility also provides an opportunity to produce unique
processed date products for the domestic market and even regional export markets. Specific
products and specifications need to be identified.
8.2

Engineering

Additional work is required by a food processing engineer on equipment design and

specification, in order to provide sufficient information to seek bids for the equipment and the
required buildings and cold storage facilities. This includes additional information on the site
and buildings for the processing equipment.
8.3

Finance

The ideal investment partner in the project will be a firm or individual that has an established
market for processed date products, particularly in the EU and USA/Canada. This will allow the
plant to produce a product that meets the specific needs of targeted markets. With this type of
investor involvement it should be relatively easy to obtain significant financing from Middle
Eastern and Gulf sources.

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USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

9.

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

ANNEXES

Annex A

List of U.S. Buyers of Date Products

Annex B

Date Food Processing Equipment Supplied by Elliott Mfg., Fresno, CA

Annex C

Flow Chart-Date Juice Extraction Line and HFDS Palm Date Syrup Line

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USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

ANNEX A
U.S. BUYERS OF DATE PRODUCTS
There are a wide range of importers and processors who purchase dry fruit and nuts both
domestic production and imported product and, in turn, supply processors with product. Listed
below is an example of companies that have historically purchased dates.
American Nuts
8000 Wheatland Avenue
Sun Valley, Calif. 91352
818-768-1028
Glory Bee Foods
120 N. Seneca Road
Eugene, Oregon 97402
Toll Free USA/Canada 1-800-456-7923
info@glorybeefoods.com

General Mills Inc.

(Nature Valley Division)

J.R. Braun
265 Post Avenue
Westbury, New York 11590

Kalustyan Corp.
855 Rahway Avenue
Union, New Jersey 07003
Phone: 908-688-6111
Fax: 908-688-4415
http://www.kalustyan.com
Otis McAllister
353 Sacramento Street, Suite 300
San Francisco, Calif.
Tel: 415-421-6010
Fax: 415-421-6016
info@otismcallister.com
http://www.otismcallister.com

Kellogg Company
1 Kellogg Square
Battle Creek, Mich. 49016
(269) 961-2800
investor.relations@kellogg.com

Hadley Orchards
83-555 Airport Blvd.
Cabazon, Calif.
1-800-854-5655
hadleyscom@hadleyfruitorchards.com
http://www.hadleyfruitorchards.com

Purity Foods
2871 West Jolly Road
Okemos, Mich. 48864
Phone: (517) 351-9231
Fax: (517) 351-9391
purityfoods@voyager.net
http://www.purityfoods.com

RDM International
11643 Otsego St., No Hollywood, Ca 91601
Phone (818) 985-7654 Fax (818) 760-2376
rdmintl@aol.com
http://www.rdmintl.com

Setton International Foods

85 Austin Blvd.
Commack, N.Y. 11725
Phone: 631-543-8090 Fax: 631-543-8070

Specialty Brands Inc.

4200 East Concours
Ontario, Calif. 91764
909-477-4700
http://www.specialtybrandsinc.com

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USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

ANNEX B
DATE FOOD PROCESSING EQUIPMENT SUPPLIED BY ELLIOTT MFG.
FRESNO, CALIFORNIA

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USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

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USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

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USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

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USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

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USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

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USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

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USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

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USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

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USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

55

USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

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USAID/Iraq/Inma Agribusiness Program

Contract No. 267-C-00-07-00500-00

Pre-Feasibility Report: Date Processing

Agland Investment Services, Inc.

ANNEX C
FLOW CHART
DATE JUICE EXTRACTION LINE AND HFDS PALM DATE SYRUP LINE

57