A delicious range of fruits and vegetables grown in Saudi Arabia is currently enjoying the spotlight at LuLu Hypermarkets in the Kingdom, as the retail giant launched the “It’s Season” promotion on Sunday.
Launched in three major cities, “It’s Season” aims to help local farmers and support the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture’s (MEWA) idea of “farm-to-table” sustainability in the food chain.
Dr. Sulaiman Al-Khattab, assistant of deputy minister at MEWA in Riyadh; Dr. Majid Al-Farraj, director general of MEWA in Riyadh; Amer Al-Mutairi, director of MEWA in the Eastern Province; Dr. Galib Alsaedi, deputy director manager of MEWA in the western region; along with Shehim Mohammed, director of LuLu Saudi Hypermarkets; other invited guests, media representatives and LuLu officials graced the launch event.
This month, the promotion spotlights grapes along with watermelon, banana and papaya. All the local produce has been made available at specially discounted prices.
“The Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture is committed to supporting local farmers, and as the largest retail operation in the Kingdom, we are very happy that LuLu is our partner in this movement of local food production sustainability,” said Al-Khattab, the assistant of deputy minister at MEWA Riyadh. “We are experimenting with exciting new agricultural techniques to promote local produce and are sure customers will love the fresh local taste.”
The initiative will eventually be implemented across all LuLu Hypermarkets in Saudi Arabia.
“LuLu plays a big role in market sustainability and food security and we see this as a promotion that works for local farmers as well as customers,” said Mohammed, the director of LuLu Saudi Hypermarkets. “Today we stock nearly 60 tons of local produce a week — four varieties of grapes, three varieties of dates, and two varieties of watermelon, banana and papaya each.”
LuLu’s annual purchase of Saudi-grown fruits and vegetables stands at 25,000 tons and this includes watermelon, banana, papaya, cucumber, tomato, onion, potato, capsicum, melons, mangoes, herbs and leaves.
