Ask a wholesale date buyer which Iranian variety moves the most tonnage and the answer is often Sayer, not the varieties that get the marketing spotlight. It's grown at scale in Khuzestan province, yields heavily, and its main commercial use isn't the retail shelf at all — it's processing into paste, syrup and vinegar.
That's the number one thing to understand before ordering: Sayer is priced and traded differently depending on what grade you're buying. Whole-fruit, cosmetically graded Sayer — larger pieces, even colour, minimal breakage — costs more per kilo than ungraded or "processing grade" Sayer sold in bulk for paste production. If your business is making date paste, syrup, or using dates as a baking ingredient, buying processing grade is the cheaper route and the flavour outcome is the same once it's cooked down.
Iranian Sayer dates ship from Khuzestan starting around early autumn. Because the fruit is soft and moist, it's more vulnerable to crushing and heat damage in transit than a drier variety like Zahedi — ask any supplier about their cold-chain handling and carton packing before committing to a large order, especially over a Malaysian summer.
Minimum order quantities and lead times vary by exporter, but a general rule for softer varieties like Sayer is to order less per shipment and reorder more frequently, rather than holding a large stock in a warm warehouse. Moisture content is the spec to ask for on every batch — too high and it spoils faster, too low and it was likely mixed with an underripe portion of the harvest.
If you're setting up a recurring supply line rather than a one-off order, it's worth asking your supplier for a sample batch first so you can check colour consistency and moisture by hand before committing to container volume.
Compare Sayer against other bulk options in our dates wholesaler listings, or see the full catalogue including premium dates on the home page.