It is summer time! It is also watermelon season for the people of Eastern Province. “It is actually a watermelon festival because it is the time of the year when several varieties of watermelon flood the markets of Eastern Province. It is a season we look forward to every year,” said Abdullah Al-ghamdi, a watermelon lover. “I taste all the varieties of watermelons not just to quench my thirst, but to savor the goodness of both the local and imported ones,” he added. Watermelons are now all over the markets in the region - whether in small stores or in big supermarkets. They are available by piece, by the dozens, or by the trucks. In addition to the local varieties, which are boughtfrom Al-Kharj, Qassim and Al-Hassa farms, watermelons are also imported from Syria and Jordan. China, considered the world's biggest producer of watermelons, is now exporting to the Kingdom “Batheeq Cheeni” (meaning watermelon from China) at fruits and vegetable markets. A piece of local watermelon costs SR10, while the imported ones are priced between SR15 to SR18 per piece depending upon the weight and size. The imported kinds are also sweeter. Ali, one of the watermelon vendors in Dammam vegetable market, offers free tasting of his watermelons before accepting payment from his customers. “I want them to feel good; that the melon is worth what they are paying,” he told Saudi Gazette. Hassan, a vendor at the Dammam fruit and vegetable market, looks forward to the watermelon season every year to make good money. “I buy melons by the trucks - around SR400 to SR500 per truck - and sell them in front of mosques in Dammam. I more than double my investments,” he said. Other bulk buyers like Hassan sell their watermelons in interior areas of Eastern Province, such as in Hafr Al-Batin, Arar, Jubail, and Ras Tanura. Watermelons coming from Syria and Jordan, loaded in trucks, are auctioned at the Dammam Municipal Fruit and Vegetable Market. Here, wholesalers bid starting from SR2,000 upwards per truck. The bidders are usually owners of chains of supermarkets. __
