Dairy firm, Centrale Danone loses 50% of market share in Morocco

France’s Danone has said it will not leave Morocco despite losing 50% of its market share due to a consumer boycott campaign launched by unknown activists since April which was against high prices of milk, bottled water and petrol in the country.

The Chief Executive Officer of Centrale Danone, Emmanuel Faber, told reporters while on a visit to the country’s commercial nerve of Casablanca, “Centrale Danone will never leave Morocco, but it will take months to address the fallout from the boycott and regain consumers’ trust,” he said.

Faber added that the dairy firm is ready to sell its products at the cost of production to abate the situation, “To regain the public’s trust, the dairy firm was ready to sell milk at the cost of production without making a profit if a new deal could be reached with farmers.”

Centrale Danone was targeted along with Afriquia fuel stations and the Sidi Ali water brand.

The boycott, which launched on Facebook in April, led to a huge decline in the company’s sales, and is expected to lead to a further loss of about 150-million dirhams in the next six months.

Online campaigners have blamed the targeted firms of exploiting their market position.

The government of Morocco has however called for the boycott to end, expressing concerns that it may discourage other foreign investors and weaken the local dairy sector.

Protests over poverty and corruption this year and in 2017 in impoverished regions of Morocco have been described as the most intense since the 2011 unrest that prompted King Mohammed VI to devolve some of his powers to an elected parliament.