20,000 camels compete in a beauty contest in UAE

Around 20,000 camels are competing in a beauty contest in the UAE, and some other camels are being sold at prices ranging from thousands to millions of dollars, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

In the previous Mazayin Camel beauty competition, a UAE national, Bin Ghanim al-Falahi, set a record of around $15 million by purchasing several camels.

"This is the first time that I participate in the al-Dhafrah Festival. I've been impressed by how well it has been organized so decided to take a more active part in it this year by participating in the Millions Street trading activities," Saeed Mohsin Munni, an Emirati based in Ghayathi, told the UAE-based Gulf News.

"I'm hoping to sell my camels before the festival ends… I've already received some interest from other owners who want to buy them. I'm also on the lookout for camels to add to my herd," Munni added.

Prices assigned for camels depend on age, type, its purity and sex, said Rashid Saeed Seedi, a participant from Oman who has sold four camels and purchased five, adding that older female camels tout the best type, for "they are the ones that give birth for future champions."

According to Seedi, prices for female camels are often 70 percent more than males, and the older a camel, the more valuable it is.

Despite characteristic, "the pricing camles still depend on how much a person is willining to pay," he added.

The festival is organized under the patronage of General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.