Infrastructure
“I think we’ll see the
sales of drinks decline
dramatically,” said Colin
Beaton,
managing
director of Limelight
Creative Services, a
retail strategy agency.
“Many of the consumers
of soft drinks are in the
lower income brackets,
who will be hardest hit.
Wealthier people will
not mind going from
Dh2 to Dh3. But people
at the lower end of the
economic spectrum will
stop consuming these
products,” he added.
Separately, a tax of 100
per cent will be placed
on energy drinks, such
as Red Bull, and tobacco
products,
effectively
doubling their price.
Companies
are
concerned by steep hike
in prices that consumers
will be faced with on the
morning of October 1.
British
American
Tobacco
executives
have complained about
the lack of a phased-in
approach, telling Gulf
12
August 2017