Iraq has been known for its date palms since ancient times. They even became the national symbol of Iraq. Palm trees were mainly cultivated in 13 governorates in the center and south of the country, and previous governments gave it importance due to its impact on the local economy and the gross national product of the state.  

This led Iraq to top the list of countries producing dates, and its varieties diversified into more than 600 types, some of which are rare and are now hardly produced. Previous government statistics indicate that from 2000 to 2003, Iraq produced more than 800,000 tons of dates annually, yielded by about 33 million palm trees.

However, this all changed after 2003, and the rates of date production decreased in addition to the decline in the areas planted with palm trees. Government statistics indicate that the number of palm trees fell back to 12 million palms, and their production declined to reach about 450,000 tons annually between 2005 and 2009.

Now, an official source in the Ministry of Agriculture stated: "[…] the agricultural reality that we are seeing, as well as the periodic reports of the field teams, confirm the continued decline in cultivated areas in general, and those of palm trees in particular, with this decline reaching a rate of more than 60% relative to its area before 2003.”

Source - https://www.freshplaza.com