Wedding hall rentals have seen a price hike of 50 percent since the beginning of this summer season. The price of meat, a necessity in the wedding banquet, has also soared. Increasing costs associated with weddings have become a big hurdle for youths wishing to get married. The manager of a wedding hall has admitted that charges have become exorbitant and unaffordable to many people. He confirmed that some young men are postponing the dates of their wedding parties because of the high costs during this season. Naif Khamis, a young man intending to get married, called for construction of new wedding halls so they are evenly distributed throughout the Kingdom. He also wants charitable societies to construct wedding halls that can be rented at nominal rates. Khamis is also upset by the gradual rise in the price of meat due to weddings and the advent of the holy month of Ramadan. Prices have reached unprecedented levels. A sheep now costs about SR1,350 and livestock dealers expect the price to settle at SR1500 during Ramadan. Several Saudi nationals said that with such skyrocketing prices, they would have to resort to buying Harri sheep, which are similar in taste to Al-Na'emi sheep. Sheep traders said the rise in prices of animal fodder, with barley reaching SR50 per bag, is the main cause of the problem. The price for a camel has increased to SR4,000, and traders expect high demand to drive the price to SR5,000 in the next week. Livestock traders, who expect citizens to consume about three million head of livestock during Ramadan, said the tremendous increase in prices have forced Saudis to change their consumption habits and opt for the cheaper variety of livestock such as Harri, Barbari and Sawakni sheep. __
