Rose farmers here are expecting profits of about SR70 million this season because of the reduced chance of harvest-damaging frost this year. Rose farmers are waiting for the annual rose picking season, which starts at the beginning of spring and lasts for between 40 and 50 days. The delicate flowers are picked in the morning hours to ensure freshness, and are quickly taken to the distilling plants before they wilt, reported Al-Riyadh newspaper on Friday. Tariq Bin Mahmood Khan, Acting Executive Director of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) in Taif, said Taif rose farmers are experienced and have been well known for producing top quality roses since ancient times. There are many distilling plants producing natural perfumes and rose oil of different grades. Rose farms have spread from the more well-known areas of Al-Shafa and Al-Hada to many highland areas surrounding Taif governorate. Production is expected to be between 18,000 and 20,000 tolas of pure rose oil this year, which is sold at prices ranging from SR1,500 to SR2,000 per tola. (One tola is 11.664 grams). Meanwhile, bottles of “Al-Aroos”, or first-extract rose water, are sold for SR20 each, while ordinary rose water is sold for SR10 a bottle throughout the year. Taif rose water is characterized by its sweet smell and rich flavor compared to imported rose water. The extracting rose oil takes place at special traditional distilling plants. The roses are first cooked in large pots, each with a capacity of between 10,000 and 20,000 roses. When the vapors rise from the cooking pot, they are condensed into droplets through a cooling pipe known locally as Al-Kou', which carries the distilled water and rose oil from the pipe to Al-Talqiah, a vessel made of glass, which comes in different sizes. Its function is to collect the distilled water and rose oil. The fragrant oil is withdrawn and collected from the Al-Talqiah using a special glass implement. The rose water is poured into bottles ready to be transported to the markets.
