JEDDAH: Candies and nuts are among the top-selling items during the end of Ramadan, being a traditional custom to offer these treats to guests and children during the upcoming Eid season.
To cope with the high demand, many vendors set up temporary stalls just for selling candies and nuts. Starting from the last 10 days of Ramadan, those vendors make a small fortune during their short-span business.
Traditionally, candies and nuts were linked to Eid Al-Adha festival where children used to knock on neighbors’ doors and receive their candy and nuts treats — a Middle East version of Trick-or-Treat, without the trick or the costumes.
Now with this habit fading away, people buy the goods as a symbolic link to the festive season.
Jeddah’s historic center, known as the Balad, is the perennial hotspot in Jeddah for candies and nuts stalls. Many people prefer to buy their Eid delicacies from Balad because of its traditional atmosphere.
Downtown stalls contain a mixed variety of nuts, dried fruits and candies. They also sell modern imported candies and chocolates besides the traditional ones that include Hummosiah, and Loziah (chickpeas and almonds that are covered with colorful sugar coatings).
These merchants also sell rock-hard dates on a string, which is used to make a traditional Hezaji treat called dibyaza; where the dates are boiled along with cashews, sesame seeds, raisins and other ingredients.
Majid Al-Harthi, a candy stall operator in Balad said the demand for Eid candies has significantly dropped. He attributed the decline to the loss of traditional spirit among the people.
“Though the demand is still there, but compared to 10 years ago it has dropped by at least 50 percent,” Al-Harthi said.
He noted that every year he has to decrease the size of his stall and the quantity of candies and nuts. He said that now people go to fancy shops in Tahliah Street to buy imported candies. “Unfortunately, they even buy imported candies similar to those made and sold here, just for the sake of showing off,” he said. Freeloading customers are also common during the season. Some people during their walk in downtown stop in each and every stall to take free samples of candies and chocolates, claiming that they are tasting which is the best item to purchase. They usually end up rounding up half a kilo of free candies.
Saeed Ahmad, a candies and nuts stall vendor, said that sometimes people come and pick a candy from each type in his stall. “Since it’s business time I cannot stop them,” he said adding that such people manage to collect a good amount of candies from the stalls.
He said that an average price for one kilogram of candies is about SR40.
Saleh Amoudi, another candies and nuts stall vendor said that in order to stop such people he offers no samples for free. “When even someone asks for a sample I tell him or her to take two pieces for SR1,” he said adding that sometimes they just shy away and leave empty handed.
