world’s largest dates market and festival in SaudiArabia !!

Buraidah’s dates market is the largest in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.The world’s largest dates festival is in full swing in Buraidah.Saudi men sell dates from the back of their trucks during the first day of the Buraydah Dates Festival in Buraydah, 400 kms northwest Riyadh, on September 1, 2012. The festival site covers an area of 300,000 square meters that can accommodate 2,000 trucks and cold-storage vehicles. refrigerated trailers and boasting vast loading areasThe Buraydah date market, the largest in the world, operates around the clock, receiving clients from different parts of the Kingdom as well as from neighboring Gulf and Arab countries

Brisk business is being as hundreds of tons of high-quality dates, harvested in the Qassim region, are being brought into the festival.

The farming community in Qassim, which was once renowned for harvesting quality wheat, now harvests the “Sukkari” type of dates, considered one of the most popular kinds, both in the Kingdom and in the Gulf region at large.

“The dates festival in Buraidah is not only an event, but a lifeline for thousands of farmers and youth who depend on the income generated from the cultivation and 

farming of this gem,
They receive 1,500 vehicles loaded with dates daily and have provided employment for nearly 2,500 people, who do anything, from loading and unloading produce to selling dates at the market,.

“We have noted a 12-percent sales increase compared with previous years. The dates festival has made over SR125 million in sales over the past few days alone.”

“In fact, sales are expected to further increase from Monday and last two weeks. This is considered peak season for the market.”

More than 25 million kg of dates are being sold at the festival, with prices ranging from SR25 to SR50 per kilo depending upon quality.

There are three main categories of dates: soft, semisoft, and dry.some varieties of dates you may find in the  markets.

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• Barhi dates: Named for the hot Arabic winds called “Barh,” these dates are medium-sized, thin-skinned fruit with soft, tender flesh and a syrupy flavor.

• Deglet Noor dates: A semisoft date, deglet noor is the variety most often available and accounts for 95 percent of U.S. production. It has firm flesh and a color range from light red to amber.

• Halawy dates: These soft dates are thick-fleshed, caramely, and sweet. Their appearance is wrinkled and the skin ranges from yellow to amber.

• Khadrawy dates: Similar to the Halawys, these soft dates have a caramel-like texture and sweet flavor.

• Medjool dates: These semisoft dates, sometimes called the Cadillac of dates, are sweet, moist, meaty, and firm-textured.

• Thoory dates: This is a dry date with firm skin and chewy flesh.

• Zahidi dates: The Zahidi, a semisoft date, is called “Nobility.” It has a large seed and crunchy fibrous flesh, and is often processed for sliced dates and date sugar products.

But the Sukkari type comprises more than 85 percent of all dates,Buraidah’s dates festival is a major generator of income for the Qassim region, in which agriculture and palm cultivation are prime activity.

Collection  by: M. Ajmal  khan