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Danish goods stay off shelf

Meanwhile, residents of Sharjah have also initiated a strong movement by putting up posters outside residential buildings and villas urging people to support the boycott.

Carrefour, Spinneys, Shankar Group, Lal's and the Cooperative Union Societies are some of the major retailers in the UAE who have decided to clear the Danish stock from their outlets. The residents, including people of all nationalities and religions, have expressed solidarity with their Muslim brethren by extending their full support in boycotting the Danish products. A large section of Christians residing in the emirate have also expressed anger over the blasphemous drawings published in the Danish newspaper Jyllandsposten in September 2005. The act has sparked uproar in the entire Muslim world.

"We will continue to boycott Danish products even if the newspaper has apologised for their act,” said Omar Mohammedain, a resident.

Mohammed Khan, another resident, echoed similar sentiments, saying: “The newspaper's apology is not enough. We demand an official apology from the government to be broadcast in all international media channels.”

"As a Christian, I join and support the boycott campaign the newspaper's act as an insult," added Mark Al Maida.

A grocery keeper, Qamar Al Deem Mohammed, stated that he was forced to remove all Danish products from the shelves when customers blasted his decision to continue to stock Danish products.

"They warned me of dire consequences if I did not remove it immediately," he said.

Carrefour, the French hypermarket chain, has also removed all products from Denmark from their shelves in all Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman, said a source.

In addition, Carrefour has temporarily suspended import of Danish products from its local suppliers, the source disclosed.

"Further, posters have been put up at all outlets in the UAE and other countries urging customers to inform the information desk at the outlets if they found any Danish product on the supermarket shelves. This was in case any of these products have remained on the shelves due to oversight," he added.

Meanwhile, the Shankar Group of Supermarkets in the UAE have also removed all Danish products from their shelves. A source at one of its outlets in Sharjah disclosed that the decision to remove all Danish products was taken by the company following orders from the local Municipality.

"The Danish dairy products have been a fast selling product at all our outlets, specially Lurpak butter and the Three cows cheese, as well as canned meat and chicken franks. We have kept our shelves empty after removing the Danish products, but will soon replace it with locally produced dairy products," the source pointed out.

An official at Spinneys noted all Danish products were removed from all their 14 outlets in the UAE two days ago.

Jacob Mikkelson, area manager of Arla Foods in Dubai, could not be contacted for any comments. However, he had earlier told a local daily that they were losing Dh9 million a day. However, he said, they would respect the consumers' feelings if they choose not to buy Arla food products from the shelves.

Danish companies in the Gulf have already lost around Dh200 million in revenue due to the consumer boycott sparked by the publication, disclosed Thomas Bay, Consul at the Royal Danish Consulate and Trade Commission of Denmark.

BOYCOTT IN ABU DHABI ALSO

By Haseeb Haider

ABU DHABI — The campaign to boycott Danish food products intensified in the capital yesterday, as all major retail hypermarket chains removed the food products from their shelves. A leading Danish food giant, Arla Foods, said his company was loosing $1.5 million daily, in the Gulf region alone.

All major super market chains in the capital were quick to respect the sentiments of the general public and also avoid any strong reaction from the aggrieved public by removing Danish food products, particularly dairy goods from their shelves. Lulu Supermarkets, Emirates General Market and others as well as leading European chain, Carrefour have joined the boycott.

Meanwhile, Arla which markets long life dairy products like processed cheese and creams is one of the leading companies with a significant presence in the Gulf market including the UAE. Jacob Mikkelsen, General Manager, of the company told Khaleej Times that the situation was getting serious as the majority of the retailers have taken off the Danish food products from their outlets. He hoped that the stand off between the Muslim world and the Danish government would be resolved through dialogue.

Quoting CNN new channel, he said that Denmark's Islamic Faith Community has accepted the apology from the newspaper and the Prime Minister, to end the boycott. Mikkelsen said that Danish business community fully understands the sensitivities of the Muslim communities whose feeling have been hurt by the cartoons. "I offer my apologies and my sympathies to our customers, who are upset because of what had happened," he said. When asked what role the Danish exporters are playing to normalise the situation, he said, "We are asking our government to listen to the sensitivities of the Muslims".

Danish food products hold a significant market share, Mikkelsen said, but did not elaborate on the total sales turnover in the UAE. But, in Abu Dhabi alone, the total sales per day was $1.5 million which amounts to $545 million per annum.

• UAE