JEDDAH, 17 January 2003 — The drive to Saudize the fruit and vegetable markets in the Wadi Al-Dawaser region south of Riyadh has met with mixed results.

Most areas initially reported major successes, but have since suffered serious setbacks to the extent that entire souks are again being run by foreigners, Al-Watan newspaper said in a report yesterday.

In the region’s two most important wholesale markets, Khumaseen and Noayreeyah, Saudization achieved 100 percent results. In Al-Sulail souk it was a similar story, with Saudi workers reaching 90 percent of the total.

However, the process then began to falter.

According to officials at Al-Sulail souk, the return of foreigners was necessary because many of the Saudis who took over from the expatriates soon afterward decided to abandon the profession.

Even those who remained did so on an occasional basis, meaning that locals could never be sure whether or not the souk would be open.

Replacing foreigners with Saudis in the fruit and vegetable sector has long been one of the government’s main priorities in its drive for Saudization generally.

One Saudi farmer said that after Saudization he had been forced to come to the market to sell his products himself, adding that as he cannot do all the work he has to bring in some of the foreign workers from the farm and leave it unattended in the meantime.

Saad Al-Dosary, a young Saudi salesman and one of the few who decided to stay in his new job at the souk, said that at first the return of foreign workers began slowly but then accelerated until everyone realized that they were once again in control of the market.

He explained the flight of Saudi workers from this kind of business by saying that “most of them are impatient and lazy”.

Al-Dosary said while work in the fruit and vegetable market can be very profitable it requires patience and endurance.

“If you are energetic, ready to wake up early in the morning, work hard and know how to treat your customers, you will succeed. Instead of complaining and talking about the lack of jobs, people should just get into the business and then stick to it”, he said.