Dubai: Get ready to see a change in your grocery bills, as they will no longer be written in English.
The Ministry of Economy has announced that by 2018, all shops and retailers will have to add the Arabic language.
Hashim Al Nuaimi, Director of the Consumer Protection Division at the Ministry of Economy, said that since the project was implemented in 2013, as many as 80 per cent of establishments have adopted the initiative.
According to the Arabic daily Al Ittihad, shops have until the end of the year to comply with the rule before it becomes mandatory next year.
The ministry implemented the initiative after receiving complaints from consumers who could not understand what was included in their receipts.
According to media reports, Al Nuaimi explained that even though shops and restaurants employed people from various nationalities, Arabic speaking customers claimed to have been misled by employees who spoke English with a strong, distinct accent that was difficult to understand.
