JERICHO (Ma'an) -- Jericho has tripled its production of dates since 2010, following an increase in investment in the date industry, officials said Tuesday.

Nazih Eshtaya, who heads the horticulture department of the Agriculture Ministry in Jericho, said the West Bank district would produce around 2,360 tons of dates in 2012. The quantity is still not sufficient to meet demand in the West Bank, particularly during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, he added.

Eshtaya said in a statement that investments in planting palm trees had increased in recent years showing the importance of the industry to the Palestinian economy.

Undersecretary of the Agriculture Ministry Abdullah Dahduh told Ma'an that Palestinian dates were sold locally and exported widely at high prices.

He said the ministry was working according to a government plan to promote the sale of national produce in local markets, which includes a ban on the sale of settlement produce in West Bank markets.

In 2008, President Mahmoud Abbas launched a national program to plant trees to support farmers and maintain the land, Dahduh added.