RIYADH: The “auctioning” phase is one of the primary stages in the process of buying and selling dates, with a direct impact on prices. It contributes to introducing the types and merits of dates, and the selling of them. During the Buraidah Date Festival, an auctioneer plays an important professional role, and is chosen by traders before the beginning of the purchasing and sale season, by offering several in-kind and financial bids and advantages to find a distinguished auctioneer with special skills.    Agricultural marketing institutions and date merchants make sure to choose an auctioneer that fits their list of individual skills and specifications. As the date season approaches each year, the brokerage market is activated and traders seek to nail the services of distinguished auctioneers. Agreement contracts vary based on the capacities and skills of the chosen auctioneer. Dr. Mansour Al-Mushaiti, managing director of Buraidah Festival, said that the auctioning profession relies on a number of skills and specifications that traders make sure to obtain to ensure a successful marketing of their goods. Al-Mushaiti said that the auctioneer is required to have skills that include a special baritone, quick and agile physical activity, a distinguished way of wearing the costume (ghutra and agal), fluency in the spoken dialect and a rich vocabulary. An auctioneer is also required to be good in describing and marketing the goods and to know some foreign words to attract the attention of buyers.