The retailers also said the lack of organization cost them a lot, as only 32 kiosks were accessible out of 180. Moreover, the festival was postponed and held after the summer holidays.
The retailers also claimed that the municipality announced that the rent for a kiosk would be SR1,500 (€347), but many of them had to pay up to SR20,000 (€4,625) as they could only rent for several months at a time.
The municipality issued a statement replying to the accusations. It said the rent price was fixed and 90 percent of the kiosks only paid SR1,500. Moreover, retailers may terminate the contract at any point, without any financial ramifications.
The dates market was only a small part of the festival, which ran for three months, including the summer vacation. The date market receives an estimated 260 tons of produce annually from 3.5 million date palms in the region.
Source: saudigazette.com.sa
