Photos: Traders bid for sweetest dates at Saudi festival

At dawn in Unaizah, the golden-brown dates - the stars of the festival - arrive at the marketplace to the sound of a town crier announcing trading open. Farmers, traders and consumers wend their way through piles of the fruit stacked on metal carts at the annual seasonal market, where 280,000 kg of dates are sold each day. Above, a Saudi farmer displays dates to customers during the Unaizah season at Unaizah city in Al-Qassim province.

Auctioneers shout to get the attention of the highest bidders for Saudi Arabia’s prized dates at the Unaizah festival, where buyers from across the kingdom line up for the product that is later exported worldwide.

Besides being the world's top oil exporter Saudi Arabia is also a leading producer of dates. The Qassim region is famed for its Sukkari dates, which auctioneer Abdulaziz al-Falwa says can vary in price from 5 riyals ($1.33) for 3 kg to up to 700 riyals($186.66), depending on the quality.

The annual festival, held at a yard stretched over a few thousand square meters, attracted hundreds of local buyers from all over the kingdom bidding on the highest quality dates.

This year’s festival saw no participation of visitors from the Gulf and other regional countries due to travel restrictions imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus.

The festival, which organizers say is one of the largest in the world, is held at the town in the central Qassim region, one of the most conservative parts of the country.

Despite the restrictions, the produce is shipped and exported overland to neighboring Gulf countries and other parts of the world.

The festival is organized by the Unaizah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Besides being the world's top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia is also a leading producer of dates. The Qassim region is famed for its Sukkari dates, which auctioneer Abdulaziz al-Falwa says can vary in price from 5 riyals ($1.33) for 3 kg to up to 700 riyals($186.66), depending on the quality.

Due to COVID-19, last year's festival had no international visitors but still exported to around 50 countries. "This year, we hope to reach 60," said Abdelrahman Mohammed al-Qudeiri, the festival's head of exports, who estimated they would send 20,000 tons abroad this year.