Hot weather brings business to watermelon vendors

With temperatures hovering between 40 and 42 degrees celsius, Saudis and other Arab nationals from the Qassim Region are cashing in by selling watermelons in the Riyadh.
Abu Ali, a 50-year-old Saudi from Qassim, said he loads his pickup truck with watermelons early in the morning and drives south toward the capital.
“If I am able to sell all the my watermelons, which I normally do, I make a good margin. I make no less than SR 2,500 per trip, notwithstanding operational costs,” he said.
Abu Ali said he has established regular customers after years of traveling to Riyadh to sell his fruit.
“In the Suleimania district, my customers habitually come to see me near the mosque where I regularly park my truck,” he said. Abu Taher, a 45-year-old resident of Palestinian origin, said that he leaves Buraidah early in the morning and drives for four hours to arrive in time for when his customers go to the mosque near Sitteen Street in the Malaz area to pray.
“I travel to Riyadh when watermelons are in season,” he said.
“I sell at low prices in order to outsell my competitors,” he said.
Having gained the trust of his customers, Abu Taher says that buyers often voluntarily give him more than what he bargains for.
For others, making profit isn't as easy. “I find fierce competition from fellow vendors who have been traveling to Riyadh for years, since I only began this business last year,” said a 30-year-old Saudi, also from Qassim.
He said he stays in the area until the 6-o'clock mark of Abu Ali and Abu Taher to sell all his produce.
“Considering the long distances I travel daily, I would have hoped to make a profit rather than having to resort to selling what remains of my watermelons at a loss at the end of a long day,” he said.