SAUDI ARABIA: Best quality dates are showcased in a festival in Saudi Arabia as clients rush to stock up on the ancient desert commodity and a traditional Ramadan treat only weeks ahead of the holy month

Record ID: 189217

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA: Best quality dates are showcased in a festival in Saudi Arabia as clients rush to stock up on the ancient desert commodity and a traditional Ramadan treat only weeks ahead of the holy month
  • Date: 16th June 2013
  • Summary: BURAIDAH, SAUDI ARABIA (RECENT - JUNE 13, 2013 (REUTERS) VENDOR SELLING DATES FROM LAST YEAR'S SEASON DATES BEING WEIGHED CUSTOMER PAYING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SULIMAN AL-MUA'AI, A CUSTOMER ,SAYING: "I came today to the Koot Dates festival in Buraidah, to buy dates to prepare for the month of Ramadan. I need dates to donate for charity, and for my house as well, for my family.'' MUA'AI AND HIS SON LEAVING, CARRYING DATES DATES ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SALEH AL-AFALIG, PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PALMS AND DATES, SAYING: ''No doubt Saudi dates are among the best in the world. It's a product that we're proud of, the Saudi flag has a date palm on it, it is a product that our fathers and grandfathers lived on, and I'm sure that it will become a main staple for the country.'' VARIOUS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF DATES ON DISPLAY VARIOUS OF CUSTOMERS TALKING TO DATE MERCHANTS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ABDUL RAHMAN AL-ERANI, DATES SELLER ,SAYING: "The price of the Mufatal dates range from 60 to 150 riyals (16-40 USD) and Rutab (type of dates) ranges between 30-60 (8-15 USD) Riyal - depending on quality, weighing about 3 kg." VARIOUS OF CUSTOMERS BUYING DATES AT FESTIVAL VARIOUS OF DATES ON DISPLAY SAUDI GIRL EATING A DATE
  • Embargoed: 1st July 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Saudi Arabia
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Topics: Business,Industry
  • Reuters ID: LVA9ZVB6TWTK8HQ7ZE9C067699P5
  • Story Text: Just few weeks away from Ramadan, Saudi farmers and merchants have opened a dates festival in Buraidah, hoping to boost sales and increase date production ahead of the holy Muslim month.
    Buraidah's date trade is attracting many clients in the remote inner province of Qassim. One of them, Suliman al-Mua'ai, said he needed to stock up on the ancient desert commodity.

    "I came today to the Koot Dates festival in Buraydah, to buy dates to prepare for the month of Ramadan. I need dates to donate for charity, and for my house as well, for my family,'' said Mua'ai who left the festival with his son carrying two boxes and a bag full of the traditional Ramadan treat.
    Farmers and vendors are hoping to target high sales figures during the festival and generate revenues of some 100 million Saudi riyal, or $26.5 million, as most of Qassim's 1.8 million residents rely on the palm industry for their main source of income. The annual income of the date industry in the area reaches some 2.5 billion Saudi riyal.
    The Buraidah initiative is part of a government push to preserve the importance of date production in the country.
    This year the farmers displayed the produce of last year's season as Ramadan expected to take place in July, ahead of this year's harvest. But they say the dates were stored in a special way and proclaim to display the best of dates harvest, hoping it will become one of the country's insignia.
    ''No doubt Saudi dates are among the best in the world. It's a product that we're proud of, the Saudi flag has a date palm on it, it is a product that our fathers and grandfathers lived on, and I'm sure that it will become a main staple for the country,'' said Saleh al-Afalig, President of the National Council of Palms and Dates.
    The festival takes pride in it's large range of date types and prices can rise up to $40 per kg, depending on quality.

    "The prices of the Mufatal dates range from 60 to 150 riyals (16-40 USD) and Rutab (type of dates) ranges between 30-60 riyal (8-15 USD) - depending on quality, weighing about 3 kg," said date merchant, Abdul Rahman al-Erani.
    There are more than six million palm trees planted in the Qassim province, north west of the Saudi Kingdom. According to experts, more than half of which are productive.
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