Garangao kits in high demand

The sweets and nuts shops at Doha’s Souq Waqif are experiencing brisk business over the past week as many customers were busy with purchases to celebrate the Garangao night, which falls on the 14th night of holy month of Ramadan, and considered a key celebration for children as part of the local and other Gulf countries’ traditions and folklore.Speaking to local Arabic daily Arrayah, shop keepers at Souq Waqif pointed out that their sales of nuts, sweets and related items have shot up by almost 60% compared to other times due to the increasing demand at this period of the year.They have been preparing packages and sacks of various sweets and nuts, adorned with related images and traditional designs suitable for the occasion.Hydar Asghar, a shop owner, pointed out that his shop started its preparations for Garangao since the end of the first week of Ramadan. He said that this occasion is very important for every sweets and nuts shop, as demand increases considerably and sales become much better.The ready to distribute boxes for Garangao could start from QR50 and up to QR300 according to the size and contents. Prices this year are considered 10% lower than the previous year, he added.Mahdi Hussein, a shop manager, said that shops normally expect high sales during this period and most of them try to offer competitive prices and launch their best offers to attract more customers. He said that a sack of 10kg of Garangao sweets and nuts could sell for QR150, while 5kg sells for QR70. Besides, there are mini packages and sacks that could sell for competitive prices, such as QR80 for 12 small packages, and 12 sacks could sell from QR72 and down to QR36 according to the difference in content and design.Khalil al-Qudssi, also a shop owner, said the local market has a large variety of nuts and sweets to offer. He said that most nuts are imported from Iran, India, Pakistan, America, and Syria among other countries. Besides, there are a large variety of sweets and dried fruits imported from different sources.He further, stressed that even though the demand is high, prices remained stable and very competitive to attract more customers.