Saudi Gazette Tabuk, the city of flowers produces millions of flowers each year to cater to the Kingdom's growing demands. However, ironically, the city itself does not have enough produce to meet its residents' needs. Florists of Tabuk are not happy with the current scenario as they have to buy flowers from abroad or from other regions of the country. Ali Al-Turki, owner of a gift and flower shop, told Al-Watan daily, “More than 60 percent of the flowers in my shop are imported from Egypt, India, or Holland. We rely on imports because the floral production in Tabuk cannot meet up with the massive demand for fresh flowers, which has sharply increased in recent years in the region. The customs and lifestyles of Saudis have changed over the years. Previously, a dozen crystal drinking glasses or a set of teacups were the gift of choice when visiting friends and relatives, but today exquisite flower bouquets wrapped in colorful ribbons and scented paper are the perfect gift for many occasions. The younger generation invented the popular trend of arranging fresh flowers around a cute, cuddly teddy bear.” Hasan Abu Dhaheer, a decorator, said, “Over 90 percent of the flowers I use in sales and in decorating are purchased from Taif, Columbia, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Indonesia via Saudi importers and wholesale distributors. It is ironic and quite sad that the majority of Tabuk's floral production is delivered to other cities in the Kingdom, which compels my business to rely on flowers from abroad. In addition, there is a huge void between our town's supply and demand. For example, the summer season is packed with weddings and other happy occasions and my business consumes 10,000 fresh flowers a day.” Jamal Al-Sayed, an agricultural engineer, creates beautiful flower arrangements for customers in a floral shop, said, “The variety of different flowers in Tabuk is limited which is why we need to import exotic flowers from outside the Kingdom. To make the bouquet more attractive, we need to surround the flowers with broad green leaves or add long, thin stems with tiny white tops. These plants, such as the bamboo stalks that add much beauty to a bouquet and appeal to our customers do not grow in Tabuk and are native to tropical areas such as Indonesia and Thailand.” According to Al-Sayed, the roses imported from India are deemed superior to the Saudi roses by merchants and customers alike because the Indian roses stay fresh longer, are larger, have a stronger scent and come in more colors. From Egypt, floral shops import lilies and gladiolus, and the latter blossoms in a rainbow of colors such as white, pink, red, purple, yellow, orange, salmon, and even green. Orchids are imported from Thailand, tulips from Holland and the lovely carnations are grown here itself. Another specialist in flower arrangements, Ahmad Al-Jundi, said, “Customers today know a lot about flowers and they have an elite taste when it comes to buying them. Our customers desire to present a valuable, unique, and charming gift to their loved ones. For some people cost is not a consideration and they demand expensive imported flowers. In my floral shop, 80 percent of the green stalks and leaves used to decorate bouquets are imported, and 60 percents flowers are imported from outside Tabuk.” The director of flower production at Astra Agricultural Company in Tabuk, Eng. Yousef Abu Fara, said, “Last year, the company produced approximately 19.5 million flowers and with the planned expansion in the company, production is expected to increase to 24 million flowers a year by the end of this year. Most of our locally grown flowers are delivered to Riyadh, Dammam, and Jeddah. The company now intends to keep larger numbers for the floral market here in Tabuk. We invite all families and flower lovers to visit our fields to enjoy a beautiful scene of flowers in all colors.” __
