Red Palm Weevil

RPW damage affects the income of around 123,000 small farms in Saudi Arabia. Annual losses in date production range between US$ 6 and 17 million and the cost of removal of infested palms in the Gulf region is estimated to be between US$ 5 and 25 million at an infestation rate of 1% and 5% palm tree, respectively.

Red palm weevil (RPW) (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) is an alien destructive Coleopteran snout pest originating from tropical Asia that seriously attacks a majority of palm trees and has started into sugarcane. In the past few decades, it has spread out many regions worldwide, including North Africa, the Middle East, Mediterranean region, and parts of the Caribbean and Central America. This plague has wiped out many palm farms in various countries, and constitutes a severe agricultural problem. In Gulf countries and the Middle East, $9 million are spent, every year, only to just remove infested palm trees. In 2023, in Italy, Spain and France, it is expected that RPW control and loss of benefits amounted to around $225 million.

THE ISSUE IN NUMBERS

Around 90% of the world’s dates are grown in the NENA region. Nearly 50 million farmers’ livelihoods are affected by the RPW.EUR 480 million worth of date palms are destroyed in the Mediterranean countries each year.
In Egypt in 2022:RPW was detected on 94% of date palm farms.Annual cost of on-going RPW treatment programs is USD 5.7 million. Annual value of lost date palms and associated forgone revenues is up to USD 213 million.
In Saudi Arabia in 2022:RPW was detected on 53% of date palm farms.Annual cost of ongoing RPW treatment programs is USD 34.4 million. Annual value of lost date palms and associated forgone revenues is up to USD 401 million.

Currently, the primary strategy for controlling this pest is through the use of chemical pesticides. Unfortunately, increasing evidence has shown that RPW has a strong resistance to all the commonly used pesticides and is not working. Weevil Wipeout has shown 95% efficacy in clinical trials and is based on entirely bio-friendly ingredients that do not harm the environment and do not harm the food chain.