BURAIDAH: The Buraidah Date Festival was launched on Monday by Qassim’s Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, in partnership with Qassim Municipality, the Culinary Arts Commission and the National Center for Palms and Dates. The ministry’s director general, Abdulaziz Al-Rajehi, said that Qassim Gov. Prince Faisal bin Mishaal has “given great attention” to the month-long festival, which will showcase more than 45 kinds of dates. The event will also feature scores of activities and marketing schemes to promote Qassim’s date industry. Buraidah Date Festival aims to attract consumers, investors and exporters from the Arab and Gulf countries. About 4,000 young men, women and families will set up booths at the festival to sell their handmade products. In Madinah, demand for the fruit, especially ajwa dates, has increased significantly due to the influx of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims. Madinah is famous for producing various types of dates, including ajwa, safawi, mejdool, anbara, sagai, barni and mabroom. Pilgrims as well as visitors sample and buy the fruit during their time in the city. The harvest season of ajwa, mejdool and safawi dates has also begun. About 4 million trees will be harvested to stock date markets in Madinah, according to Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Radadi, director general of the Cooperative Society for Dates in Madinah. The wholesale price of dates ranges from SR12 ($3.20) to SR20 per kilogram.