Stall manager Hassan Saleh Salman Arawiti, right, with his helper Shakir Mohammed Abbas Jubaili, both from Qateef, say sales are poor at Alkhobar’s produce market. (AN photo)

ALKHOBAR, 20 November 2004 — The place should be a hive of activity from the early morning hours, but at Alkhobar’s halaga or outdoor produce market, only the flies are showing any signs of life. Located in Al-Jowhara District on a good site not far from Alrashid Mall, the halaga should be thriving. At a glance anyone can see this isn’t the case. Leaseholders of the stalls based there believe that within a few months, they’ll all be gone.

According to stall manager Hassan Saleh Salman Arawiti the serious problems at Alkhobar’s produce market began exactly one year and two months back. At that time, as a part of the Kingdom’s Saudization efforts, the municipality forced out the Bangladeshis who had worked at the market for more than a decade. Repeated raids involving the police eventually ensured that all the expatriates were permanently driven away.

Saudis had never played much of a role in Alkhobar’s halaga and without the Bangladeshi workers the market became dysfunctional.

“The leaseholders of the stalls tried to hire Saudis but it wasn’t very successful,” Arawiti said. “Those Saudis had no experience in the produce business and couldn’t work the long hours the business requires for profitability. Most Saudis stayed just a week or two and they were gone. The labor problems led to some stalls closing at that time.”

Customers became dissatisfied with the environment at Alkhobar’s halaga. They didn’t want to deal with the poor service and variable quality of the produce there. Arawiti explained that many supermarkets had begun offering produce by the carton. Customers, especially women, liked the convenience of buying their fruits and vegetables from the same place they purchased their other groceries. The stall managers found that even after the situation at Alkhobar’s halaga stabilized, the customers didn’t return. These days only five stalls are functioning.

“There are people willing to work now,” said Arawiti, “but there’s no demand. In years past on a good day I’d earn SR2,000 to SR3,000. Now my income doesn’t even hit SR500 daily. If we get thirty customers a day for the entire market that’s a lot. After 20 years in the business it’s almost over here for me. The market’s dead and I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Alkhobar’s stall managers buy their produce from Dammam’s main halaga. They sell produce mostly by the kilo. A crate of eggplants purchased for SR5 in Dammam would bring as much as SR15 when sold by the kilo in Alkhobar. At the end of each day most of what isn’t sold in Alkhobar is thrown away.

Dammam’s halaga, located just a 30-minute drive away from Alkhobar, is doing well. All the area’s restaurants, supermarkets, hospitals, hotels, schools and caterers buy from that market. Some of them buy produce in bulk, purchasing wholesale lots of 20 crates or more from trucks coming in from commercial operations outside the area. Local produce and smaller amounts of produce are bought from the stalls at Dammam’s halaga.

Abdullah Ahmed Al-Oubaid said that the market had suffered a little from the competition with the supermarkets but he was still doing well. He agreed with Arawiti that there had been some difficulties managing the operations without expatriate labor, but he believed that Dammam’s market was coping.

“We never had the overwhelming dependence on expatriate labor here in Dammam that they always had at Alkhobar’s halaga,” Al-Oubaid explained. “It’s true that Saudis don’t work like expatriates. Saudis have families and obligations and won’t work long hours. So we have to hire at least two Saudis to replace each expatriate laborer.”

Al-Oubaid leases and operates his own stall at Dammam’s produce market. The stall is just the most visible aspect of his business.

“I have my own farm in Qateef where I grow much of the produce that I sell at my stall and to others,” he said. “I also own a truck that goes to the main produce market in Riyadh to bring back fruits and vegetables that we don’t have here. The most important thing for me is to keep my reputation. Customers come to me for the best fresh produce at a good price. If I can’t supply it, they’ll go elsewhere. That’s what happened at Alkhobar’s halaga. The stalls there lost their reputation and the customers went somewhere else.”

On a good day Al-Oubaid takes in up to SR20,000. He emphasized that for the business to succeed, hard work and long hours are a must. Al-Oubaid worked at his stall throughout the Eid holiday. He also said that these days it’s necessary to be innovative in the produce business. Stall managers need to sell something that differentiates them from others to hold customers’ interest.

“Come and see my broccoli,” Al-Oubaid said picking up a carton of the green vegetable. “Broccoli is not a part of the standard Saudi diet but I found that many Asians and Westerners eat broccoli and lots of restaurants buy it too. We grow this broccoli on my farm in the winter months and we sell all we grow. Imported broccoli costs about SR25 per kilo. I sell this entire carton of broccoli, which weighs about 5 kilos, for just SR8. Quality, innovation, service and price are the key to succeeding in this or any business. The stall holders at Alkhobar’s halaga could not only survive but thrive if they would follow my advice.”