- Title: SAUDI ARABIA-BURAIDAH DATES Saudi 'dates city' Buraidah hosts festival
- Date: 12th August 2015
- Summary: BURAIDAH, SAUDI ARABIA (AUGUST 9, 2015) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF BURAIDAH DATES FESTIVAL, ABDULAZIZ AL-MEHWES, SAYING: "The Buraidah dates festival is no longer just a local market for Qassim region or Riyadh or Najd, it is now a market for the Gulf and the whole world. The dates of Buraidah are now being sold to traders and exporters who export
- Embargoed: 27th August 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Saudi Arabia
- Country: Saudi Arabia
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA4RR51MMR42E60O6VX30D98EHB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: It's a busy time for the dates merchants in the Saudi city of Buraidah, where the annual dates festival has attracted many visitors.
Enthusiastic auctioneers stand atop trucks filled with the finest produce, shouting out the prices.
The festival this year has fallen after the fasting month of Ramadan, when demand for dates is high.
But traders say the supply is high, with thousands of dates boxes arriving every day from across the kingdom.
"The dates city (Buraidah) is where 7.2 million palm trees are located. It produces over 242, 000 tonnes of dates, and its market receives a daily average of 200,000 boxes of dates. About 2000 cars loaded with dares come to the market every day," said trader Abdulaziz al-Twegry.
Many of this year's produce will go to Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition alliance of Gulf Arab nations are fighting Houthi militia in an attempt to restore exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power.
"There are trucks (loaded with dates) making their way to Yemen now after the liberation of part of the country. I personally sent a truck of dates to Yemen today and I, as well as the other merchants, expect to send another 12 trucks to Yemen as part of a government aide to Yemen," said Twegry.
As the annual festival kicks off with high demand, farmers and vendors such as Twegry are hoping to target high sales figures.
The 1.8 million residents of Qassim, of which Buraidah is the capital, rely on the palm industry for their main source of income.
But it was not just experienced auctioneers showing off their skills at the festival.
Young Waleed Al-Ham was lending his father a hand.
"I come to help my father at the auction, I buy and sell dates and I enjoy it. When I grow up I want to be an auctioneer," said the young Ham.
The executive director of Buraidah Dates Festival, Abdulaziz Al-Mehwes, said the festival has become a popular destination for world traders.
"The Buraidah dates festival is no longer just a local market for Qassim region or Riyadh or Najd, it is now a market for the Gulf and the whole the world. The dates of Buraidah are now being sold to traders and exporters who export the dates all over the world."
There are more than six million palm trees planted in the Qassim province, north west of the Saudi Kingdom.
The festival kicked off on Wednesday (August 5) and will last until September 9. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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