Truck and Barter

I was of the opinion that peaceful boycotts don't ever work, because 1) not enough consumers believe in the principles underlying the boycott, meaning 2) only a threat of violence against customers can actually bring a full stop to a trade of specific goods.

Well, I was wrong; to have a successful boycott, you don't need consumers to boycott products at all! You just need to get into the newspaper.

Donna Abu-Nasr of the AP informs us that one economic boycott, by enraged Muslims against Danish products as punishment for the drawings of Muhammed printed in Jyllands-Posten (and reprinted in Norway’s Magazinet), is being adhered to.

In fact, the foodstuffs firm Arla Foods notes that ALL of its orders to the Middle East have been cancelled:

The boycott of Danish products in the Middle East is now almost total. All Arla’s customers in the region have cancelled their orders and sales have come to a standstill in almost all markets.

Well, is there a near universal belief in the Middle East that the Danish government should censor and censure the news, and that other Danish (or historically Danish) firms should pay for a newpaper's insolence? Maybe. Or is there a threat of violence being waged against supermarkets and consumers? Not really.

What has happened is scandal-loving and selective reporting by most major media. The decisions of the managers of hypermarkets (who serve the middle and upper classes in the major Middle-Eastern cities) have been taken as evidence of decisions of widespread individual dissatisfaction culminating in a boycott. Saudi Arabia recalling its Ambassador to Denmark is not an expression of public opinion.

In reality, this is not a consumer boycott at all, but a middle-man boycott. Danish goods are not available in many stores of the most Western-looking stores (e.g. in the UAE), but are readily available in others! Roger Harrison and Maha Akeel of the Arab News are on the scene in Riyadh, and give quite a different impression than the other news outlets:

Meanwhile, supermarkets are pulling out Danish products from their shelves...

The manager of a flagship supermarket in Jeddah said imported Danish dairy products accounted for about five percent of their sales in product volume but more in terms of income. He confirmed that no decision had been taken to reintroduce Danish products on the shelves. “As the situation stands, they are off for the foreseeable future.”

His supermarket took the initiative when the news became common knowledge. “We have had very positive feedback from our customers to our decision,” he said.

However, the manager of a major supermarket in the north of Jeddah said that there had been almost no reaction at all to date. “We have had one person bring back a purchase asking for a refund. Given the circumstances, we respected his wish at once.”

So which is it: widespread dissatisfaction or a vocal minority imposing their ideology upon the rest of the citizenry?

Well, unless the goods are sitting on the shelves for people to buy, the everyday Saudi shopper has no choice and no voice in deciding whether or not to boycott Danish products; that decision is made for him by the religious, political, and economic elite of his country.

You want proof? Just look at the words of Abdullah Al-Othaim, executive president of Al-Othaim Holding Company. His company is not buying Danish products anymore. Why? Well...

Al-Othaim said that just as Denmark has freedom of the press, Muslims have freedom to buy or not to buy.... Al-Othaim’s decision, which he says includes a boycott of any supplier that includes Danish products, may help to impact SR1.3 billion worth of exports to Saudi Arabia.

In other words, Muslims are free to buy Danish products, just not at his stores! That's fine in a freer market, especially since supermarkets are now an extremely competitive business in Riyadh. And his supermarkets do not dominate Riyadh, so he alone could not stop residents of Riyadh from having a choice... But market leader Panda supermarkets also pulled Danish products too....

I'm still not certain how much this really matters, since in Riyadh, supermarkets account for only 35% of food sold. So what about the other 65%? Do they even carry Danish products?

This is about politics, power, and influence. Look at the attempts to bring this issue in front of the UN. Hamid Karzai appears to be the only leader who understands what the phrase "free press" means:

“The press is free here as we now have it in Afghanistan. There are things that the political system cannot control.”

Astonishing good sense!

You can see some Palestinians in Gaza burning the Danish flag, and empty store shelves in Kuwait. But these images tell me nothing about what the people of the Middle East believe. Nothing.

An aside: Competition from smaller dairies is hitting Arla hard in Denmark.