Abu Dhabi: The importance of the Arabic language as a tool of communication in supermarkets was highlighted by the Ministry of Economy during an inspection tour today.
During an inspection at Fathima supermarket in Al Bateen Mall, Hashim Al Nuaimi, director of the consumer protection department, stressed that all posters, descriptions and prices of items should be available in Arabic as well.
“Given that this is an Arab country, any means of communication should also be in Arabic as that is UAE’s dominant language. I expect that these changes will be implemented by tomorrow,” he added.
Ramadan baskets should also be ‘see-through’ for customers to be aware of what they are purchasing, he said. Additionally, information provided via the supermarket’s seven TV screens, which are already in Arabic, should also be translated into English and Urdu to ensure adequate understanding by all nationalities.
Failing to adhere to these instructions may incur a penalty, Al Nuaimi warned.
Shamsudheen Mohammad, purchase head at Fathima Group of Companies, said: “We will accommodate all warnings and ensure that everything is being communicated in Arabic. With regard to TV screens though, we will look to translate the information into English but Urdu is not a priority at the moment as 90 per cent of our customers are local.”
“Monitoring entities will ensure to keep up to speed with people’s potential concerns and look to implement them both effectively and in a timely fashion. More details will be revealed after Ramadan is over,” Al Nuaimi told Gulf News.
Maisoon Mubarak is a trainee at Gulf News
