February 13, 2006

Boycott wipes out Danish poultry sales in Muslim countries
 

Denmark's poultry exports to the Middle East have taken a beating as millions of Muslim consumers boycott Danish products because of the Prophet Mohammad cartoon row.

All Danish poultry exports to the Middle East were stopped last week due to cancelled orders.

Jan Pedersen, General Manager of the Danish Poultry Association said on Friday Danish products already on the market may have to be shipped back to Denmark.

There are no indications when the boycott will end, he added.

The Middle East accounts for 12 percent of Danish poultry exports worth about US$28.9 million yearly.  Danish farmers are switching from whole chickens meant for Middle East markets to chicken parts for other markets.

Relations soured between Denmark and some Muslim countries after Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten portrayed the founder of Islam as a terrorist in a cartoon.

Consumers in Muslim countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia have since been urged to boycott Danish goods.

Denmark exports US$280 million worth of food and agriculture products annually to the Middle East, of which poultry is one of the main items.

The boycott costs Swedish-Danish dairy giant Arla Foods more than a million dollars in sales a day as its products have been taken off shelves in the region. The Middle East is Arla's second biggest market outside Europe. However, the true impact comes from the negative effects the boycott will have on its brand and market share, Arla Chief Executive Peder Tuborgh said. The incident has caused the company to lose a large part of one of their major markets and could affect the company for years, he said.