RIYADH: Farmers at AlUla Dates Auction in northwestern Saudi Arabia are moving date boxes from the bottom to the top to encourage buyers to trust the quality of the goods exhibited and the cleanliness of their harvest.
One farmer said that a batch of dates he sold earlier retailed for roughly SR3 (80 cents) less than the projected price for a kilogram, but he was pleased to later sell another type of dates for SR7 ($1.87) more a kilogram.
Many farmers transport ripe dates at the end of summer to the market square while specialized transport companies manage exports to major cities and outside of the Kingdom.
Saud Al-Anzi, another farmer, pointed to two piles of date boxes on either side of the market, one of which had been sold at auction while the other awaited its turn.
He anticipated a fair price of about SR10 a kilogram for his premium variety, known as “berni,” but the auction surprised him shortly afterwards with a price about SR4 higher.
Omar Al-Balawi, the general supervisor of AlUla Dates Auction, told Arab News that the auction was established to root the market value of AlUla dates and enhance their competitiveness after farmers previously traveled long distances to other markets, especially in Madinah, which is about 350 km from their farms in the northern province of the Madinah region.
He said that several gains have been achieved for both farmers and buyers, raising the quality of the varieties and ensuring fair prices.
AlUla Date Auction is continuing its events as part of the “Date Season” during the Fridays and Saturdays of September and October, having been extended for an additional two weeks to allow distant farms in the province to participate in the auction and provide an opportunity for their dates to ripen.
The Royal Commission for AlUla, in collaboration with several government and private entities, organized the auction at Al-Iskan playground south of AlUla until Nov. 9.
The auction allows AlUla farmers to showcase their date products to buyers and investors from within and outside the Kingdom.
The auction establishes competitiveness for AlUla dates in local, regional and global markets, in line with AlUla Vision, which aligns with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 aimed at enhancing the Kingdom’s role to become the largest exporter of dates worldwide.
As part of the festival, AlUla Date Auction 2024 Award will be held for participating farmers in the festival auction, where the first-place winner will be awarded SR75,000 ($20,000), the second 50,000 ($13,300), and the third 30,000 ($8,000).
Winners will be selected on specific criteria related to the quantity and total value of sales.
