ALULA: The Royal Commission for AlUla launched the third AlUla Citrus Festival on Friday. This event takes place during the harvest season and showcases various types of citrus fruit grown in AlUla farms.

The festival spans two weekends, Jan. 5-6 and Jan. 12-13, highlighting AlUla’s agricultural significance. Farmers have the opportunity to present AlUla’s diverse citrus fruit varieties in an agricultural and economic celebration, during which locals share their products.

Following the commission’s vision aligned with Saudi Vision 2030, RCU recognizes the significant role of the agricultural sector in supporting economic opportunities, enhancing competitiveness among producers, promoting agricultural development, creating more opportunities for locals, and providing a distinctive experience for AlUla’s visitors by exploring the agricultural sector, a prominent tourist attraction in the province’s present and future.

AlUla’s plains and valleys are home to more than 200,000 citrus trees spread over 800 hectares, making citrus fruits the second most important crop after date palms, which represents 30 percent of the Kingdom’s total production of different types of citrus fruit, according to approximate numbers released by RCU.

Some of the most prominent citrus varieties in AlUla include oranges, sweet lemons, citrons, sweet oranges, mandarins and clementines. The festival serves as a vibrant market for local producers, selling about 15,000 tons of their crops annually.

This year’s festival includes display stands for productive families and farmers and different interactive activities for the residents and visitors to engage with food and beverage providers in AlUla. Local farmers will be invited to showcase their best products and compete for a variety of prizes.

The event also includes live cooking shows, which were very successful in 2023 when they featured renowned chefs preparing a range of healthy and delicious dishes of fruits and citrus varieties.