The economy of Date is primarily agricultural, with an emphasis on rice and horticulture. The area is noted for its peaches and dried persimmons.
Taiyo Yuden operates a metal power inductor production plant in the
Yanagawa Industrial Zone in Date, Fukushima, which also produced
CD,
DVD and
Blu-ray discs in the past.
Peaches Date City's location in central Fukushima (
Nakadōri), in the middle of
Fukushima Basin, helps in the cultivation of peaches. The most common varieties grown in the area are Akatsuki, Kawanakajima, and Yuuzora.
Dried Persimmons As sericulture lost its place in the area during the Taisho period, the former village of Isazawa in Yanagawa replaced it with the production of dried persimmons, among other industries. Dried persimmons had been produced in the area since the Edo Period. However, the addition of sulfur fumigation as was used in the production of raisins in the United States, allowed for a much sweeter product. Whereas traditional dried persimmons,
hoshigaki, have a tough skin and are almost black in color, those created with the additional step of sulfur fumigation, called
anpogaki or
tsurushigaki, are soft and bright orange. Although the production of anpogaki was halted for three years after the 2011 disaster, Date City's persimmon orchards have since been decontaminated and testing machines have been installed, ensuring the safety of the final product. ==Education==