Only 'metre' allowed from July 1 in Dubai shops

Fabrics will no longer be sold in Dubai shops by the yard as the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (Esma) has decided to switch to the metre as the unit of measurement, according to a report in the Arabic daily newspaper ‘Al Bayan’.

Esma has confirmed it has completed preparations for the start of the mandatory switching from the yard to the metre in fabric trading in all UAE markets.

The authority said the yard would not be allowed to be used in measuring fabrics from July 1.

Esma said it is implementing a Cabinet decision to use international units of measurement in UAE.

Abdullah Al Muaini , Acting Director General of Esma,  said the application of the new system is a step on the road to unify the units of measurement used in the UAE.

Al Muaini called on all shops selling fabrics to switch from the yard to the metre.

He said this switch is the third such step taken to unify measuring units in UAE.

Al Muaini said petrol pumps had switched from the gallon to the litre as the measuring unit for fuel in the beginning of 2010.

Next, a switch from the foot and the yard to the metre was made in all official transaction in 2011.

Mohamed Ahmed Al Mulla, Director of Metrology at Esma, said the authority has coordinated with the Fabric Merchants Association and it was agreed that all fabrics imported into the UAE would carry a card indicating its measurement in metres.

He said all fabric merchants were given a grace period until the end of December for goods already in warehouses to be attached with the ‘metre card’.


 

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