By Ramesh Mathew/Staff Reporter


Dry fruits are traded in huge quantities during the Ramadan period. The picture shows a salesman at a hypermarket sorting produce at the dry fruits counter. Picture: Jayaram
Suppliers of dry fruits are going through their busiest period of the whole year, thanks to the early arrival of the holy month of Ramadan.Dry fruit traders said the one month period starting from at least a fortnight before Ramadan is the busiest for those in the industry throughout the region, including in Qatar.
“Turnover wise, the month brings at least 50% business more than what we receive in the two or three months preceding the holy season,” said an official of a trading house, dealing in a large variety of dry fruits.
Dry fruits from Iran, India, Brazil, Turkey, Pakistan, Myanmar, Canada and also from the USA usually flood the region’s market during this one month period.
“Despite poor crop owing to adverse climatic conditions in some countries from where we regularly import produce, the prices in the local markets are more or less the same as last year,” said a senior official of Modern Food Centre, one of the major importers of dry fruits.
Along with varieties of dates procured mainly from markets in the region and also from Qatar, products like dry lemon, cashew nuts, almonds, pine seeds, apricot, red rose and dry grapes are also imported in large quantities.
“Even the import of such goods like rice powder and gram goes up considerably prior to the Ramadan fast,” said a trader. Gram is arriving in the local market mainly from Myanmar, and Canada. Sources also say trouble in Syria has hit the supply of dry fruits from Syria, which otherwise is a major source in the regional market.
The businessman said a clear picture of the difference in the volume of edible items sold in the months before Ramadan and during the holy month emerges if visits are made to shops located in Qatari dominated localities like Muaither and Rayyan.
Resourceful Qataris place large orders of the above items to be packed and given as “Zakat” to economically poorer sections. “Now-a-days, most orders are made through the country’s hypermarkets,” said a supplier.
However, inquiries also found unlike the practice in Qatar some 10 to 15 years ago, most such benefactors are now focusing on products other than dates to be given as “Zakat” to the poor.
Sources also felt that catering groups also receive a large number of orders over the one month period and hence the trading houses also witness many bulk purchases during the period.
An importer said usually the month of July is mostly dull for local retailers. “However the arrival of Ramadan changed the situation and the import of foodstuff, especially dry food and rice witnessed a huge rise.”