We sell rotab Mozafati, a soft fresh-type date from Bam in Iran’s Kerman province. Kurma tangkai is a different product from a different part of the world, but shop owners ask us about it every puasa season. So here are the questions we hear most, answered plainly, along with what a distributor should be doing for you on each one.
Is kurma tangkai a type of date?
No. Kurma Tangkai means dates still attached to the strand of the bunch. It is a packing format. The fruit on the strands sold in Malaysia is Deglet Noor from Tunisia, with some from Algeria. A quote describing Iranian or Gulf tangkai deserves a second look, so ask for the carton label before you agree to anything.
Can I store it the same way as rotab Mozafati?
Not really, and this is where a distributor that handles both earns its keep. Mozafati is soft and moist, and it is normally kept chilled on its way to your shop. Deglet Noor on the strand is semi-dry. It sits on an ordinary shelf, and what hurts it is rough handling: crushed cartons and broken strands.
A good distributor runs these as two separate lines in the store room. When your delivery arrives, the Mozafati should still be cold, and the tangkai cartons should be square and unbroken. If either one is wrong, write it on the delivery note before you sign.
Why can’t I just buy from the importer?
You can, if you can take a large volume and pay for it upfront. Most shops cannot. A distributor buys the big lot and sells it on in cartons, so a small retailer can order what it will actually sell in a month. That convenience has a cost, and the minimum order is where it shows. Our piece on minimum order quantities with date suppliers explains how to negotiate it. For how those tiers turn into a price per kilo, see the guide to reputable dates distributors and their wholesale pricing.
What should be on the label?
Look for the origin country, a packing or best-before date, the importer’s name and address in Malaysia, the net weight, and the halal certification. If a carton has none of that, it was probably repacked somewhere along the way, and you have no idea how old it is.
When should I order for Ramadan?
Earlier than you think. Ramadan comes about 11 days sooner each year, and everyone in the trade is chasing the same stock in the same few weeks. Tangkai and Mozafati both run short at the end. The pressure on distributors is covered in Ramadan challenges faced by a kurma distributor. Our advice is simple: confirm quantities and a delivery date in writing, and agree in advance what happens if only part of the order arrives.
Is one supplier for everything a good idea?
For a small shop, usually yes, as long as they really do stock both lines and are not just reselling someone else’s cartons. Ask them where each line comes from and who imports it. Then compare what they tell you with our checklist on memilih pembekal Mozafati Bam. The point is high-quality dates that arrive in the state the label promises.