Ajwa Dates Price: What You Should Expect to Pay Per Kilogram
Current Ajwa date prices from Madinah sellers, Saudi supermarkets and importers in the UK, US, Pakistan and India, plus how to tell a fair price from a fake bargain.
Prices last checked: 30 October 2026At source in Saudi Arabia, 1 kg of Ajwa dates usually costs between SAR 56 and SAR 130 depending on grade, which is roughly USD 15 to USD 35. Outside Saudi Arabia the same kilogram typically lands between USD 8 and USD 40 once import, packing and retail margins are added. Grade and seed-in weight matter more to the final price than brand name.
Why Ajwa Is Priced Differently From Every Other Date
Most date varieties are priced on size, softness and harvest year. Ajwa is priced on all of that plus two things no other cultivar carries at the same scale.
The first is geography. Ajwa is a cultivar of Phoenix dactylifera grown in the Madinah region of Saudi Arabia, and the commercial crop stays concentrated there. A limited growing area with a fixed number of mature palms means supply cannot expand quickly when demand rises.
The second is religious demand. Ajwa carries associations with the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which means millions of pilgrims arriving for Hajj and Umrah each year buy it as a gift to take home. That demand is seasonal, predictable and largely price-insensitive, which keeps a floor under the market.
The practical consequence for a buyer: a price that looks high next to Medjool or Khudri is not automatically an overcharge, and a price that looks unusually low is the thing worth questioning.
The city-by-city and grade-by-grade breakdown lives on our dedicated page: Ajwa dates price in Saudi Arabia.
Ajwa Prices at Source: Saudi Arabia
These are live listed prices from Saudi sellers, checked on 30 October 2026. Saudi retail prices are normally shown inclusive of 15 percent VAT.
| Seller / product | Pack size | Listed price | Price per kg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Munwra Dates Store, Ajwa Quba Al Madina | 1 kg | SAR 89 | SAR 89 |
| Munwra Dates Store, Ajwa Alia 100% | 1 kg | SAR 95 | SAR 95 |
| Munwra Dates Store, Ajwa luxury first class | 1 kg | SAR 110 | SAR 110 |
| Munwra Dates Store, Ajwa first class Alia | 1 kg | SAR 130 | SAR 130 |
| Munwra Dates Store, fourth class Ajwa | 1 kg | SAR 56 | SAR 56 |
| Lulu KSA, Al Huda Ajwa Al Madina | 1 kg | SAR 69.95 | SAR 69.95 |
| Lulu KSA, Tamara Ajwa Al Madina | 1 kg | SAR 100.65 | SAR 100.65 |
| Munwra Dates Store, luxury gift box | 5 kg | SAR 250 | SAR 50 |
| Munwra Dates Store, bulk carton | 12 kg | SAR 600 | SAR 50 |
Two patterns are worth pulling out of that table.
Grade spreads more than brand does. The same seller lists a fourth class kilogram at SAR 56 and a first class kilogram at SAR 130. That is a 2.3x spread inside one shop, far wider than the gap between shops at the same grade.
Bulk cartons are priced like a different product. A 12 kg carton at SAR 600 works out to SAR 50 per kg, less than half the first class retail kilo. Part of that is genuine wholesale economics and part is grade: bulk cartons are usually mixed or smaller fruit, not the hand-sorted jumbo sizes that go into gift boxes.
Ajwa Prices Outside Saudi Arabia
Once Ajwa crosses a border it picks up freight, import duty, local packing, retail margin and often a retail gift-box premium. Listed prices from international sellers on 30 October 2026:
| Market | Example listing | Price per kg (local) | Approx. per kg (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Darussalam UK, Leen Premium Ajwa 400 g at £12.00 | about £30 | about USD 40 |
| United States | Entaj Al Nakheel Ajwa 1.1 lb at USD 14.99 (Walmart marketplace) | about USD 30 | about USD 30 |
| Pakistan | Darussalam PK, Ajwah medium 1 kg at Rs 4,400 | Rs 4,400 | about USD 16 |
| Pakistan | Darussalam PK, Ajwah large 1 kg at Rs 5,200 | Rs 5,200 | about USD 19 |
| India | IndiaMart trade listings, Ajwa regular to VIP | ₹680 to ₹1,900 | about USD 8 to USD 22 |
IndiaMart prices are business-to-business listings with minimum order quantities, not shelf prices. Indian retail packs of genuine Madinah Ajwa generally sit well above the lower end of that range.
Why the UK and US Sit So Much Higher
Two reasons dominate. Air or sea freight plus cold-chain handling for a soft date adds real cost, and Western retail Ajwa is usually sold in 200 g to 500 g gift packaging where the packaging itself can be 15 to 25 percent of the shelf price. Buying a plain 1 kg pouch instead of two 400 g boxes is the single easiest way to cut the per-kilogram cost in these markets.
What the Grade Names Actually Mean
Saudi sellers use grade names that rarely get explained to foreign buyers. These are the ones you will meet most often.
| Grade name | What it usually signals | Typical position |
|---|---|---|
| Alia (عالية) | Top selection, large and uniform fruit, intact skin | Highest priced |
| First class | Large, hand-sorted, minimal blemishes | High |
| Quba | Named after the Quba area, standard good-quality retail grade | Mid |
| Second / third class | Smaller or less uniform fruit, some skin separation | Lower |
| Fourth class | Small, dry or cosmetically imperfect fruit | Lowest |
Grade is cosmetic and size-based. A third class Ajwa is not a different variety and is not nutritionally inferior in any meaningful way. If the dates are going into a smoothie, a paste or a seed powder, paying first class prices is simply buying appearance you will destroy.
How to Compare Two Prices Properly
Shelf prices are hard to compare because sellers change three variables at once. Normalise them before you decide.
- Convert everything to price per 100 g. A 400 g box at £12.00 is £3.00 per 100 g. A 1 kg pouch at £26.00 is £2.60 per 100 g. The box looked cheaper and was not.
- Check whether the weight includes the seed. Ajwa is almost always sold with the seed in. A published study measuring date varieties recorded an average Ajwa fruit weight of 11.41 g. Pitted Ajwa at the same listed price per kilogram is effectively more expensive per date, because you are paying the same money for less fruit count, but you are not paying for seed weight. Neither is automatically better value; just do not compare a pitted price against a seed-in price directly.
- Read the pack weight, not the pack size. Gift tins and wooden boxes are frequently 350 g or 400 g in packaging that looks like half a kilogram.
Quick Reference: What the Same Money Buys
| Spend | At SAR 90/kg (Madinah retail) | At USD 40/kg (UK retail) |
|---|---|---|
| About 1 kg | roughly 88 dates at 11.4 g average | roughly 88 dates |
| One date | about SAR 1.02 | about USD 0.45 |
| A 7-date serving | about SAR 7.20 | about USD 3.20 |
Date counts are an estimate based on measured average fruit weight and will vary with grade. For the full calculation see how many Ajwa dates are in 1 kg
When a Low Price Is a Warning
A genuinely cheap Ajwa price is usually explained by one of four things, and only two of them are acceptable.
Lower grade (small or blemished fruit), or genuine bulk quantity.
A different variety sold under the Ajwa name, or a dyed or coated date.
Ajwa is not the only small dark date in the world. Kalmi and Safawi are both commonly presented as Ajwa in markets outside Saudi Arabia, and both normally trade at a fraction of the price. If a seller is offering “Ajwa” at a price close to ordinary dark dates, variety substitution is the most likely explanation. The comparison that matters here is laid out in Ajwa vs Kalmi dates.
- Colour that is uniformly jet black with a glossy sheen rather than a dull dark brown-black
- Any colour transfer onto a napkin or onto your fingers
- A seed that does not match the elongated, ridged Ajwa seed shape
- No stated region of origin anywhere on the pack
- Flesh that is uniformly dry and tough rather than soft with a slight chew
None of these is proof on its own. Colour transfer and a missing origin statement together are a reason to walk away.
What Moves the Price Through the Year
| Period | Direction | Why |
|---|---|---|
| August to September | Downward pressure | Main Saudi date harvest, fresh crop arrives |
| Ramadan | Upward | Peak domestic and export demand |
| Hajj season | Upward in Madinah and Jeddah | Pilgrim buying concentrated in a few weeks |
| Late in the crop year | Upward | Remaining stock is older and scarcer |
The practical takeaway for international buyers: the best combination of price and freshness is usually the window that starts a few weeks after the Saudi harvest and ends before Ramadan demand builds.
Buying Checklist
Before paying, confirm:
- Region of origin stated as Madinah or Al Madinah Al Munawwarah
- Grade stated, or fruit visible in the pack
- Net weight, and whether it is seed-in or pitted
- Price recalculated per 100 g
- Packing or harvest date shown
- Storage instructions on the pack (soft dates need cool storage)
- For gifts, whether the premium is for the dates or for the box
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are Ajwa dates more expensive than Medjool?
Growing area and demand. Medjool is produced at scale in several countries including Morocco, Israel, the United States and Jordan, so supply responds to demand. Commercial Ajwa stays concentrated in one Saudi region with religious demand attached to it. The full breakdown is in why Ajwa dates are so expensive.
Is 1 kg of Ajwa for USD 10 a realistic price?
Outside Saudi Arabia, no. Even at Saudi fourth-class prices a kilogram is around SAR 56, roughly USD 15, before any export cost. A finished retail kilogram at USD 10 in Europe, North America or Australia should be treated as a variety or authenticity question.
Does buying in Madinah save money?
Usually yes, but less than people expect at retail grade. The real saving appears in bulk cartons, where per-kilogram prices roughly halve. Details are in Ajwa dates price in Saudi Arabia.
Do Ajwa prices rise during Ramadan?
Yes, and the rise starts before Ramadan as importers and retailers stock up. Buying outside the Ramadan window is normally cheaper.
Are cheaper grades worth buying?
For eating out of hand, grade affects enjoyment. For cooking, blending, paste or date seed powder, lower grades are the sensible choice.
Sources
All prices were read directly from seller listings on 30 October 2026 and are examples of current market pricing, not fixed rates.
- Munwra Dates Store (Madinah) product listings – munwradates.store
- Lulu KSA listings for Al Huda and Tamara Ajwa Al Madina, via Kanbkam price tracking
- Darussalam UK, Leen Premium Ajwa 400 g listing
- Darussalam Pakistan, Ajwah Dates medium and large 1 kg listings
- Walmart marketplace listing, Entaj Al Nakheel Premium Ajwa Dates 1.1 lb
- IndiaMart Ajwa dates trade listings
- Fruit weight data: Lipids in Health and Disease, 2019, bio-evaluation of functional date bars, variety texture and fruit weight table
- Variety background: Al-Khayri, Jain and Johnson (eds.), Date Palm Genetic Resources and Utilization
Written by Amira Noor. Prices verified directly against live seller listings. Prices last checked: 30 October 2026.