Morocco: Consumer Boycott Costs Centrale Danone 150 mln DH in Losses

Moroccan subsidiary of French diary company Centrale Danone has announced heavy losses estimated at 150 million Dirham for the first half of the year due to a continuing consumer boycott.

The boycott was launched on April 20 and caused the company to suffer a steep deficit after posting 56 million Dirham profits the same period last year.

The company’s revenue shrank by 50 percent as a result of the boycott.

The online boycott campaign prompted the company to layoff 886 temporary workers and slash by 30% the quantity of milk that it collects.

The scaling down of operations will impact the revenue of 120,000 farmers who provide milk for the company.

Government officials are now calling for an end of the boycott warning of a severe impact on the dairy sector.

Morocco satisfies 96% of its diary needs with the milk industry being a key part of the Green Morocco Plan.

The North African Kingdom was one of the countries who supplied milk to Qatar after the Saudi-led blockade.

The Boycott was launched on Facebook and was later largely endorsed. In addition to Centrale Danone, the boycott targets Afriquia gas stations and Sidi Ali bottled water brand, owned respectively by Agriculture minister Aziz Akhannouch and powerful businesswoman Meriem Bensaleh.