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Saudi Baqalas Banned From Selling Tobacco, Meat, Fruits And Vegetables
Saudi Arabia just dropped a big update for your neighborhood baqala!!
They’re no longer allowed to sell tobacco, dates, meat, fruits, or veggies
Yep — all those essentials are off the shelves as part of new rules rolled out by the Minister of Municipalities and Housing, Majed Al-Hogail. The ban kicks in right away, but if a store’s already open, they’ll get a 6-month grace period to sort things out.
So what’s the deal now?
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Update: Umrah Visas Are Now Officially Open For International Pilgrims!Mini-markets and kiosks can’t sell tobacco (including vapes and shisha), or any of the fresh stuff like fruits, meat, or dates. You’ll still find all that in supermarkets and hypermarkets — just make sure the store has the right licenses, especially for meat.
On the bright side, baqalas can now sell things like charger cables and prepaid cards
And there are new rules for store sizes too: grocery stores need at least 24 sqm of space, supermarkets need 100 sqm, and hypermarkets need to be a spacious 500 sqm or more.
Big changes ahead — so don’t be surprised if your usual corner store looks a little different soon!
Lovin Riyadh Newsletter 