RIYADH: The Royal Commission for AlUla launched the seventh AlUla Dates Season as part of the Khayrat AlUla Agricultural Season 2026–2027.

The season opened with a commercial date auction at Al-Fursan Village, running on weekends through Nov. 15, alongside consumer activities at Al-Manshiyah Farmers’ Market until Sept. 27.

The auction connects AlUla’s farmers with buyers, traders and investors, expanding opportunities to market local dates, increase their economic value and open wider trading channels.

The venues also provide spaces for regional farmers, cottage-industry families and artisans to sell crops, traditional foods and palm-leaf crafts directly to visitors.

The season aims to support local farmers and expand markets for their produce in Saudi Arabia and internationally by connecting farmers, producers and entrepreneurs with agricultural specialists.

Date palm cultivation is a historical cornerstone of AlUla, dating to the first millennium B.C. and documented in ancient rock inscriptions at the Jabal Ikmah heritage site. Today, the governorate has more than 4.2 million date palms across nearly 16,484 hectares, producing an estimated 130,000 tonnes annually.

The auction will feature a wide range of AlUla date varieties, including barni, majdool, halwa hamra, anbara and sifri. Both bidding and direct sales will be available, giving buyers and traders opportunities to explore local produce while expanding farmers’ market access.

The season also showcases ancestral harvesting traditions, including climbing palms with braided rope belts, cutting ripe clusters and sorting the fruit into handwoven frond baskets, linking AlUla’s agricultural heritage with modern commercial platforms.

The previous edition highlighted the auction’s growing economic role in AlUla’s dates sector. Revenues reached about SR13.19 million ($3.5 million) in 2025, with more than 2,250 tonnes of dates traded and over 1,600 farmers participating. Sales grew 48.7 percent from the previous edition.