Liwa Date Festival and Auction’s Sales Surpass AED2 Million

ZAYED CITY: The Liwa Date Festival and Auction concluded its third edition with impressive sales exceeding AED2 million, drawing over 71,000 visitors to the event held from October 11th to 20th in Zayed City, Al Dhafra region. According to Emirates News Agency, the festival showcased 132 tonnes of premium Emirati dates, featuring more than 30 varieties. The event's date auction alone accounted for AED2,067,150 in sales, with 45,000 kilograms of dates sold. The Abu Dhabi Heritage Authority organized the festival and invited the Republic of Iraq as the guest of honour to foster agricultural collaboration and strengthen bilateral ties in vital sectors. The festival boasted a prize pool of AED2.7 million, attracting 207 competitors who contributed 24,000 kilograms of dates to the auction. Celebrating the 2024 date harvesting season, the festival hosted 20 competitions offering a total of 167 prizes. These included nine date contests, two cooking competitions, five honey challenges, and two each for photography and painting.