Business & Finance Club - Today's Event : Saudi Arabia has launched what it described as the world’s first electronic palm date bourse aimed at promoting the trade of the desert fruits which account for the bulk of the Gulf Kingdom’s agricultural production.
Registration of date traders would start on Saturday but 10 major transactions have already been published on the new website, which was launched Sunday in Al Qasseem, the main date producing province in Saudi Arabia. More than 80 dealers have also registered their names by early Sunday.
Date dealers from around the Kingdom can now sell their product either by using the bourse’s website or by presenting their output at the bourse hall.
Prince Faisal bin Mashaal bin Abdul Aziz, Al Qasseem’s Deputy Emir, inaugurated the bourse in Onaiza in the heart of the province in Central Saudi Arabia, according to the official Saudi press agency.
Traders presenting their products on the website (www.altomor.com) have been asked to identify the type of the product, size of the date fruit, the exact volume of their deal and the expected price.
“This is the world’s first electronic bourse for the selling and buying of date…the Prince inaugurated the bourse and was the first one to register,” the agency said.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, is one of the five largest date producers, with its output exceeding one million tonnes in 2008, accounting for around 13 per cent of the total global date production.
Located at the heart of Saudi Arabia, Al Qasseem Province has a population of more than one million and an area of 65,000 square kilometres. It is known to be the "alimental basket" of the country, for its agricultural asset.
Digital Magazine 