HYGIENE-CONSCIOUS: Demand for the teeth-cleaning stick jumped 500 percent in the month of Ramadan. (AN photo)

RIYADH/TAIF: Selling siwak tooth sticks in Riyadh has grown up to be a roaring business with planes carrying hundreds of tons of the sticks from southern Saudi Arabia to Riyadh and exporting them to other Gulf countries four or five times weekly.

Siwak is the root of the arak tree (Salvadora persica), which was used by the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, for brushing his teeth. The tree is found in Jazan, Qunfuda and parts of Makkah and Madinah provinces.

“When the month of Ramadan comes the demand for siwak spirals,” said Najeeb Al-Rahman Muhammad, a trader in the siwak market in Batha district of Riyadh.

Sales of the sticks are boosted by religious interest and for dental care. During Ramadan, the demand for the stick jumps more than 500 percent compared to other months, said Muhammad.

“Retail sellers profit much more than wholesalers. While the price of a bundle of the stick ranges from SR50 to SR100, a retailer can cut each stick to four pieces and sell each piece for two riyals. While wholesalers have to rent their own warehouses and have other expenses, most of sellers sit in front of mosques displaying the sticks on small prayer mats and they use scissors to cut them to the size required by the customer,” he said.

While admitting that it was Bangladeshi workers who have given new impetus to the siwak market, Samil Madkhali, an old Saudi trader of the twig, said the same community of Bangladeshis has driven Saudi traders out of business.

“Competition is tough in the sales of siwak,” he said. “The market is dominated by Bangladeshi workers and traders. Most of the Saudi traders can’t compete and have quit the field, leasing their shops to expatriates. Even my sons are averse to join me in this business,” said Madkhali, who is one of the oldest traders of siwak in Riyadh.

Shohaid Juaid, another worker in the tooth stick field, said siwak prices have been rising lately not only because of Ramadan but also because the supply of the stick is falling due to over-harvesting. Since the sticks are actually the roots of the tree, harvesting the sticks kills the tree.

“Though siwak is marketed in the conventional style, modern marketing techniques, such as selling them in attractive packets after sterilizing and preserving their freshness is also adopted,” he added.

However, sellers of siwak in Taif are demanding that the market should be Saudized as the expatriate sellers are spoiling the market with cheap tricks, such as selling fake siwak made of a tree resembling arak or reusing old pieces of siwak.

“Many of expatriates sell siwak sticks in front of mosques without the knowledge of their sponsors. They are actually spoiling our livelihood. Only Saudis should be allowed to sell them,” said Abu Adil, a Saudi siwak seller in Taif.