"A 100 riyals! Do I hear 110? It’s now at 110 riyals.” A person in the crowd nods to the auctioneer to go up to 120. “It’s now 120 riyals. Going once.” A third person interrupts the auctioneer and says he is willing to go up to SR130. “Going once. Going twice. Sold to that man over there. Congratulations. May Allah bless you with your new purchase.”

As familiar as it seems, this is not an auction of antiques, furniture, or home supplies in a junkyard or market. It’s an auction that is now seen everyday in the date market in the capital. People bring their fresh supplies of dates from farms in Al-Kharj and Al-Qasim and sell them to auctioneers in the market. The highest bidder takes all, sometimes dozens of boxes, sometimes more. Winning bidders then sell their dates to people in the market, gaining profit on either the entire number of boxes or selling them one by one.

“These next few weeks are the weeks for fresh rutab (half-ripe dates) that are sold in the market before Ramadan. When the auctions are over, a customer is then forced to get them from date factories,” said Abu Saleh, one of the local sellers in the market. He said that people in the capital are keen to buy their dates from the market because they know they are fresh and just harvested. “Once they are stored in plastic bags in factories, they are no longer fresh. They are stored like any other product,” he continued.

Abu Saleh, like many other local salesmen, buy their rutab or dates from the auctions and sit there every day, selling off their dates until they are completely sold out. “My profit is SR3 per box,” said Abu Hamid, one of the salesmen there. “I buy 50 to 60 boxes a day from the auction and sell them in the same market in the morning and afternoon,” he added.

In the market, all sorts of rutab and dates are found which appeal to people’s different tastes. Among the most sought after are the “Al-Sukkari” and “Sagei” from Al-Qasim and “khulas” from the Eastern Province. Prices vary according to demand. Al-Sukkari dates are the most expensive, sold at prices up to SR300 per carton which may contain up to seven kilos. Rutab, the half-ripe dates which are half yellow and half brown, can be found for as little as SR8 per box. Unlike dates, which can be stored in metal tanks or plastic bags for months, they must be frozen or refrigerated to maintain their moisture when eaten.

An expatriate who was emptying his harvest of dates from his sponsor’s pickup truck said that he brought the dates to the market and waited until they were auctioned by a special auctioneer in the market. “My sponsor sends me to Riyadh from Al-Kharj every day with a fresh supply of dates. When I reach there, the official auctioneer in the market then takes over and auctions the dates. He writes a bill for the number of boxes sold and the price,” he said.

He said he goes with the bill to his sponsor where his sponsor collects the amount from the auctioneer, after giving the expatriate five percent for his work.

Faisal Mushari, a Saudi in the market, said he usually came to the date market before Ramadan and bought several boxes of rutab and refrigerated them. “I usually buy dates worth SR1,000 for the entire month of Ramadan,” he said, adding that dates never spoil and are a part of Saudi culture.

According to the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), a Muslim is encouraged to break his fast in Ramadan by first eating rutab and if that is not available, then dates and if they are not available, then water.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture, Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest supplier of dates, exporting 19 percent of the global market of dates.