Date traders in Madinah will not hesitate to pay rent as high as SR250,000 for small stalls in the central area near the Prophet’s Mosque to sell their produce to visitors and worshippers.
Millions of people visit Madinah every year to pay homage to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and pray at his Mosque. They are usually keen to buy dates either for personal use or to take back home as gifts to relatives and friends.
A tour of the date market in the central area revealed that the average rent of places in this area was SR200,000. Traders are keen to be present in this area which they call it the “golden area” because they are sure that they will gain a lot of profit from selling dates to visitors.
A worker in one of the stalls, Abdul Rahman Mahmoud, said a Saudi trader rented a small place which was hardly 3 x 4 square meters two years ago for SR1.5 million. “The large volume of sales persuade traders to pay any price to get a place in this area,” he said.
Mahmoud would not reveal the volume of his sales. “I am just an employee. I do not own the place. I cannot tell you how much we sell every day,” he said. He, however, added that all indications were that the date season which began about two weeks ago was going to be a success.
Saleem Ali, another salesman, said people would usually go for the pressed dates that are SR70 per kilo as it is one of the best brands. “There are dates which are as low as SR10. Every type of dates has its own buyers,” he said.
Ali said though the date market is not far, visitors prefer to buy from the central area which is close to the Prophet’s Mosque. He said they also buy their other gifts from this place.
Muhammad Al-Ahmadi, an established date trader, said though the Madinah municipality recently established a date market at Erwah district and asked traders to move there, it could not compete with stalls in the central area.
“Many of the shops in the new market are still not occupied and the old market only makes wholesale transactions so people prefer to come to the date market in the central area,” he said.
Al-Ahmadi recalled that the Madinah Chamber of Commerce estimated the sales during the date festival last year to be around SR400 million and said sales this year would go beyond that figure. “Though the season is just starting, it shows great signs of success and the sales are expected to surpass those of last year,” he said.
In the old date market, which is only about 500 meters away from the Prophet’s Mosque, sales are booming.
Muhammad Jaweed, a salesman in the market, said there is no particular season for dates and business continued throughout the year. “As the central area has its own customers, we also have our own customers,” he said.
Selling at the new market is done on a wholesale basis twice a day: in the morning and the afternoon. “Dates brought by farmers in their cars are sold through auction on a wholesale basis,” he explained.
Jaweed said the visitors know where the market is and their hotels or taxi drivers advise those who do not. “We expect to sell large quantities of dates especially that Ramadan is fast approaching,” he said.
