Friday 03 / May / 2024
Muscat: The Muscat Municipality has announced the working hours for Al Mawaleh Market in Muscat Governorate, which is the largest market for vegetables and fruits in the Sultanate of Oman.
Within the framework of the Muscat Municipality's preparations for the blessed month of Ramadan and to ensure food safety, work has been done to ensure the ongoing preparations for the Central Market for vegetables and fruits, and raise its readiness in terms of absorptive, supervisory and organisational aspects, while working to follow up on the commitment of food stores, as well as their dealers and their adherence to health requirements and preventive measures.
The municipality also specified working hours in the market to ensure smooth movement and the provision of requirements under a safe, hygienic and regulatory roof.
Work has also been done to ensure that all market facilities are technically ready, and the addition of some cooling devices for stores and refrigerators of vegetables and fruits, in order to ensure the continuation of its work as required, in addition to the health, control and commercial preparations.
Working Hours
The working hours in the market have been set to suit the privacy of the holy month.
For the main umbrella (wholesale umbrella), working hours will be from 4 AM until 1 PM.
For wholesale stores, working hours will be from 4 AM to 5 PM.
Retail stores and local production will continue to work in two shifts (morning and evening) throughout the week except for Friday, while the main umbrella (local production site) will work from 4 AM to 4 PM to 5 PM.
The market also specified entry for transport vehicles of wholesale vegetables and fruits from Gate No. (1) for the period from 4 AM to 10 PM. For consumer cars, entry will be from Gate No. (2) for the period from 7 AM to 10 PM. The entry gates for individuals will be open for the period from 4 AM to 10 PM. The market is closed on Fridays.
Inspection Campaigns
The Muscat Municipality, represented by the Central Market for Fruits and Vegetables, is still conducting intensive inspection campaigns on shops, refrigerators, and stores of vegetables and fruits to ensure compliance with health requirements during the storage, display and sale of traded foodstuffs, and to ensure the safety of vegetables and fruits when displayed, as consumer shopping increases during the holy month of Ramadan, with the aim of ensuring the safety of fresh food products in the markets, which are usually perishable in the event of non-compliance with their display, storage and circulation in accordance with food safety requirements.
(3392) tons of vegetables and fruits were destroyed during the period from (2/16/2023 to 3/16/2023). A shift work team has also been formed throughout the working hours of the market.
Number of Shipments Received
Merchants in the central market for vegetables and fruits were urged to increase and intensify direct imports from the respective countries of origin, and to coordinate with the Omani Farmers Association to ensure the availability of local products such as watermelon in quantities that meet the growing and expected demand for vegetables and fruits in particular and of all kinds, which consumers are usually keen to acquire and have on their tables during the days of the blessed month of Ramadan.
Companies have begun their preparations for this season by increasing the number of shipments entering the market to meet the needs of the local consumer, as the trucks entering the market during the period from (2/16/2023 to 3/16/2023) reached (1005). A truck was also loaded with a total of (20,100) tons of vegetables and fruits.
Coordination and Collaboration
The Central Market for vegetables and fruits coordinates in advance with a number of authorities in order to complete the procedures and controls, including coordination with the Royal Oman Police (ROP), represented by the Directorate General for Customs to ensure the presence of traffic patrols that work on organising traffic at the entrances, exits, and the internal roads of the market to ensure smooth flow of the movement of vehicles of market visitors, and dealing with the expected density of those vehicles.
In addition to coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources represented by the Agricultural Quarantine and Food Safety Department, coordination is also taking place with the Public Authority for Consumer Protection to control the prices of vegetables and fruits traded in the market, to ensure that some merchants do not exploit the growing need for these goods.
