Mangoes have become most in-demand fruit in Umlij. The fruit market here, on the west coast of the Kingdom, has been attracting many customers from in and outside the city. Farmers and observers expect mango sales in Umlij to top SR600,000 this year. The market receives more than 150 baskets of mango daily with a 28-kg basket being sold for SR50 to SR90, according to type and quality. The same basket was sold for no less than SR130 about a month ago, but the abundant yields have reduced the average price to SR75. Mango trees are cultivated on 463 of the city's 953 productive farms. Ali Ramadan, a farmer, said at the beginning of the season his farm produced four to six baskets per day. Now the production has gone up to 25 baskets a day.” Muhammad Al-Faydi, a secondary school pupil, said there is an abundant supply of mango in the city and in the markets in the neighboring regions. He said he spends his free time during the summer holiday buying large quantities of mangoes and transporting them to Yanbu where he sells them for a tidy profit. Amanallah, an Asian farmer, also buys quantities of mangoes and distributes them to his friends, who sell them in front of mosques, malls and gas stations. He said there production is plenty and the demand is high “so we go to places where there are more customers.” Khalifa, who sells mangoes at the market, said most customers are from outside Umlij. They include truck drivers and travelers who stop in the city just to buy the fruit. Hamdan Al-Harbi said he used to come to Umlij every year “to get some of its natural tasting and good quality mangoes.” __
