Muscat – To support Omani farmers and provide fruits and vegetables at competitive prices to customers at their doorsteps, a local e-commerce platform – wholesalesouq.om – is changing how retail as well as wholesale consumers buy perishable goods.

Speaking to Muscat Daily, its founder Majid Sultan al Abri said, “The platform was set up in September 2022 and deals in wholesale and retail trading of vegetables and fruits.”

The conspicuous absence of marketing avenues for Omani farm produce in the local market triggered the idea of the project. “We started selling to individuals, then to cafes, restaurants and small shops.”

Abri explained that the platform buys fruits and vegetables from Omani and non-Omani merchants at Mawaleh Central Market and delivers these to customers at their doorstep. “We work around the clock, all days except Friday.”

The team, currently consisting of 15 Omani youth, sells more than a tonne of fresh fruits and vegetables every day in the wilayats of Muscat governorate. “The platform aids owners of restaurants and coffee shops to buy Omani fruits and vegetables online. This is opening up real opportunities for Omani youth to work in the agricultural sector.”

According to Abri, the platform aims to promote locally grown farm produce and help farmers, who find it difficult to sell their products, besides saving money, effort and time for consumers by allowing them to shop online without stepping out.

“It also aims to transform the unorganised market space into a digital market providing high quality products at competitive prices,” he said, adding that the number of visitors to the platform since its launch has crossed the 50,000 mark.

He informed that initially it was difficult convincing consumers to buy from wholesalesouq.om, “but with persistence and the use of social media, we were able to overcome this challenge”.

The team is now working on plans to expand operations to other governorates soon.

Plans are also in the works in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, Oman Development Bank and Omani Agricultural Association to transport produce of Omani farmers from various wilayats to the main markets.

“We thank Muscat Municipality and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources for supporting our project,” Abri said.