Asir gears up for winter chill

JEDDAH: As the winter season arrives, the people in Asir province are stocking as much firewood and coal as possible. With its wooded forests, Tihamah in Asir is a source of plenty of firewood. A major trade in towns such as Mahayel, Khamis Al-Bahr and Bareq in the province is cutting, processing and marketing firewood.
Special firewood markets are set up during the winter especially in towns at high altitudes where the mercury drops below zero during winter months.
While the firewood from acacia trees is in high demand, a bundle of it fetches between SR 25 and SR 35, said Ibrahim Al-Aamir, a firewood and coal trader in Abha. He added that the price of a bundle would cross the SR 50 mark when the cold intensifies.
While the price of a big bundle is SR 300, a small pick-up load costs between SR 1,500 and SR 2,000, Al-Aamir said. He added that the price of a bag of coal also varies between SR 85 to SR 95 depending on the quality. Foreign coal has nearly disappeared from the market, he said. He said the coal is mainly used for cooking and occasionally for night parties, the Saudi Press Agency reported yesterday. Picnic centers, rest houses and food outlets also need more firewood during the season, another trader Musa Aseeri said