No sign of Danish goods boycott being lifted

Sharjah: Major retail chains in the UAE have not lifted the voluntary boycott of Danish products despite an apology from the newspaper that published blasphemous cartoons against Islam.

A source at Sharjah Cooperative Society said "nothing's back to normal yet".

Hassan Al Masri, general manager of the society, said it was the customers' choice.

"We are a shareholding company and have to respect our customer's decision."

Asked whether the situation would return to normal soon, he only said "maybe."

It was earlier reported the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, had apologised and the Danish Muslim group which initiated the boycott had accepted the apology.

"It's a serious issue. We are waiting for a decision from the Consumers Cooperative Union," said Ebrahim Al Bahar, operations director of the Union Coop in Dubai, hinting things were not likely to change overnight.

The Consumers Cooperative Union had approved the boycott which started five days ago throughout its 40 branches around the UAE.

The boycott has cost the Danish firm Arla Foods millions of dirhams every day, according to Jacob Mikkelsen, general manager of the Sharjah-based company.

The boycott was hitting Danish companies in the Gulf states to the tune of Dh200 million every day, Danish Consul Thomas Bay said on Wednesday.

The manager of Arla Foods said it was the hardest hit as the company was "very visible".

It supplies commodities such as butter, cheese and frozen chicken.

"We are offering our customers normal service levels," he said, hoping consumers would be offered an option whether or not to boycott their products.

But a source at the Union Coop said it was seeking an alternative source for butter. The source at Sharjah Coop felt Muslims had been very hurt over the ridiculing of their religion.

"It's going to take some time. This is not like it's a protest against American policies. This is a different issue," he said.

He pointed to the fact the Arab League foreign ministers were seeking prosecution of the perpetrators of the incident.

According to a representative of the Spinneys supermarket group Danish products were still off the store's shelves. "No decision has been taken yet. It depends on what the news is tomorrow."

Carrefour is also continuing with the boycott, which has so far been voluntary and unofficial.