This guide asks one practical question of a real wholesale price list: what is the least a buyer can spend and still buy each variety in bulk? The prices below were checked on 27 October 2026 on the online list of one Malaysian date wholesaler, so they are October 2026 prices from a single seller, not a market survey.
Malaysia has no commercial date-growing trade. Every date here is imported, and every price below is for imported fruit. "Bulk" in this guide means a pack of 3kg or more.
The entry carton of each variety
For each variety, this is the cheapest bulk pack that was in stock on the check date. In every case it was also the cheapest in-stock bulk pack of that variety per kilo.
| Variety | Grade or line (as listed) | Pack | RM | RM/kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mariami | A Normal | 5kg | 75 | 15.00 |
| Safawi | A No.2 (Mini) | 5kg | 80 | 16.00 |
| Deglet Noor | Bertangkai, semi-dry | 12 × 400g (4.8kg) | 88 | 18.33 |
| Rotab Sukkary | Premium | 3kg | 63 | 21.00 |
| Ajwa | A No.1 (Small) | 5kg | 115 | 23.00 |
| Medjool | Premium Jumbo | 5kg | 280 | 56.00 |
The spread is wide. A kilo from the Medjool carton costs RM41 more than a kilo from the Mariami carton. Mariami is an Iranian date, dark, semi-dry and chewy; Medjool, listed here as Palestinian, is large and very soft with a rich caramel taste.
Three starter orders, priced
One low-cost mixed order is two 5kg cartons: Mariami A Normal and Safawi A No.2. That is RM155 for 10kg, two dark Middle Eastern dates from two countries. Safawi comes from the Madinah region and is longer than Ajwa, dark brown to black, soft and chewy.
Add the Deglet Noor case and the Ajwa A No.1 carton and the order covers four varieties for RM358, or 19.8kg in total. Deglet Noor is the golden, translucent, semi-dry date from Tunisia and Algeria, and Ajwa is the small, near-black Madinah date with finely wrinkled skin, so this mix puts both a light and a dark date on the shelf.
Adding the Medjool carton takes the order to RM638 for 24.8kg. The Medjool is about a fifth of the weight and about 44% of the money. If the budget is fixed, that one carton takes the largest single share of it.
What the top grade would cost instead
Starting at the entry grade is a choice, not a rule. The same three 5kg cartons of Mariami, Safawi and Ajwa cost RM270 at their in-stock entry grades (A Normal RM75, A No.2 RM80, A No.1 RM115). At the top in-stock 5kg grade of each, Mariami AAA VIP RM148, Safawi Jumbo RM195 and Ajwa VIP AAA RM175, the same 15kg costs RM518. The difference is RM248.
Grade letters are each importer's own size sorting, not an international standard. A buyer comparing this list with another seller's quote should compare price per kilo and ask what the grade means there, rather than assume an AA is an AA.
Out of stock on the check date
Some lines that would make a starter order cheaper, or broader, were not available on 27 October 2026:
- Ajwa A No.2 (Mini) 5kg at RM95, which would have been RM20 below the in-stock Ajwa entry carton.
- Mariami A No.2 5kg at RM68 and Mariami AA (No.2) 5kg at RM80.
- Medjool Large 5kg at RM250. The Large grade was out of stock in every Medjool pack on the list.
- All three 12 × 600g rotab packs, Mabroom AA 5kg at RM230 and Mashrook AAA Jumbo 5kg at RM105.
- Nine of the ten listings in the Deglet Noor category, including two loose 5kg packs at RM63 and RM90.
Mazafati, the soft Iranian rotab, is cold-stored and sold year-round, so the out-of-stock Rotab Mazafati pack says nothing about a season; it only means that line was not available when the list was read.
Timing the first order
Demand for dates peaks before and during Ramadan. Hari Raya, weddings with hantaran, kenduri and umrah gifts are other peaks. Gulf and Middle-East dates are mostly harvested from late summer to autumn, roughly August to November, and new-season stock reaches Malaysia some weeks later. Several listings carry "2026" in their names; that is the seller's label, so ask what it means before reading it as a harvest year.
Whatever the plan, treat the figures above as a dated snapshot and ask for a current quote before paying. More about this site is on the about page, and the contact page lists a WhatsApp number.