By the beginning of Ramadan overall sales at the Buraidah International Dates Festival increased to between SR20 million to SR25 million, despite a decline in date prices, according to a report published in Al-Watan newspaper Wednesday. However, not everyone was happy. The lower prices of dates caused problems between auctioneers and buyers. Some farmers refused to sell their produce to buyers who won bids at the auction because they did not like the price offered. Auctioneer Abu Ali said some farmers took their produce and left the market and came back the following day if they did not like the prices offered at the auction. By Tuesday morning, the last day before Ramadan, most farmers were not satisfied with the prices. This was worsened by the increase in the prices of packaging. However, auctioneers demanded planters produce more and said there was a only a “little” supply.
