Saudis buy 16m head gear a year

Saudis buy nearly 16 million ghutras (Arabian head gear) every year and nearly 60 per cent of them are imported from China, according to a Saudi newspaper.
 
During the fasting month of Ramadan alone, ghutra sales were estimated at around eight million, nearly half the total annual sales.
 
“Saudi people buy an estimated 16 million ghutras every year…nearly 60 per cent are imported from China while Britain is the second largest ghutra supplier to the Kingdom,” the London-based Arabic language daily Alhayat said, citing a major dealer.
 
It said ghutra prices in Saudi Arabia, the largest Arab economy, range between SR50 and 320 each while a high-quality ghutra could be sold for SR500-1,000.
 
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, has a population of around 29 million, including nearly nine million expatriates, mainly Asians and other Arabs.