Not every dried fruit ends up eaten whole out of the packet — a good number of them exist mainly as an ingredient for something else, and Sayer dates are a good example. Sayer is a softer, lower-sugar Iranian variety that's usually cheaper than a Mazafati or Piarom, and a lot of the crop goes straight into date paste, syrup, or date vinegar rather than being sold as a snacking date. That's a processing choice driven by the fruit's own characteristics, not a downgrade — Medjool and Deglet Noor are the ones bred and priced for eating out of hand.
Raisins split the same way: some grape varieties are grown specifically for wine, some for drying into raisins, and the sultana/Thompson Seedless types used for raisins are chosen for high sugar and thin skin, not for eating fresh off the vine. Prunes come from a specific plum cultivar (the "prune plum" or d'Agen) bred to dry well without fermenting — you can't just dry any plum and get a prune. Dried apricots are usually a byproduct decision too: fresh apricots bruise and spoil fast in transit, so a large share of the crop is halved and dried at the point of harvest instead of shipped fresh.
Why Sayer specifically goes into paste and syrup
Sayer's lower sugar content and softer flesh make it easier to cook down into a smooth paste than a firmer, sweeter variety would be — less added liquid, faster breakdown. It's also the more affordable stock, which matters when a syrup producer needs volume rather than a snacking-grade appearance. this rundown of major growing regions and what each variety is typically used for lays out where Sayer sits next to Mazafati, Piarom and the Malaysian-market Safawi and Ajwa in terms of use case, not just price.
What this means when you're comparing dried fruit
If you're stocking or recommending dried fruit, the honest question isn't "which is healthiest" — it's "what is this variety actually for." A raisin, a prune, and a Sayer date were each selected and processed for a specific end use long before they reached a shelf. Buyers looking specifically at bulk Sayer pricing can see current 10kg wholesale figures in this Sayer dates bulk pricing guide, and the broader supplier-selection questions (grade, moisture, delivery) are covered in this Sayer dates buying guide.