RABAT, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Since late April, Moroccan consumers have held an online boycott campaign against major suppliers of mineral water, gasoline, diesel and dairy products over the soaring prices.
On April 20, about a dozen Facebook accounts with hundreds of thousands of fans called for a boycott campaign against major consumer product brands, pointing out that the prices of necessities are too high for the declining purchasing power of Moroccan people.
The campaign called for boycotting the largest dairy company, France's Centrale-Danone, Afriquia fuel stations, owned by the Akwa group of billionaire Agriculture Minister Aziz Akhannouch, and the Sidi Ali water brand.
Those brands are either owned by business and political elites, or from overseas.
The movement quickly expanded with the participation of millions of Moroccan netizens.
Zouhir Cherkaoui, a Moroccan businessman, said they participated in the boycott campaign "in a hope that these products will be able to cut prices, because Moroccans live very hard while the cost of living, including food, remains high."
Adnane Richi, a Moroccan student, thought the boycott movement "is the right thing to do."
"As young people, I cannot afford such expensive food," he explained.
A survey released by local media showed that about three quarters of Moroccans have heard about the boycott, while a quarter of Moroccan consumers have stopped or reduced the purchase of the above three brands.
Statistics showed Afriquia's gasoline and diesel sales fell by 15 percent after the boycott.
In the first two weeks of May, sales of Sidi Ali mineral water declined by 35 percent.
As a company suffering the biggest loss in the boycott, the sales of dairy products of Danone fell by more than 50 percent. The dairy giant is expected to lose 15.7 million U.S. dollars in the first half of 2018.
Didier Lamblin, president of the Centrale-Danone, said other dairy brands have quickly seized its lost market share, and it would take a long time for the dairy giant to recover.
Meanwhile, the Moroccan subsidiary of Danone has decided to reduce the purchase of raw milk by 30 percent from local farmers and dismiss 900 short-term contract workers.
The move also sparked strong dissatisfaction among Danone's employees in Morocco.
On June 5, nearly 2,000 Moroccan employees marched in front of the parliament in the capital Rabat, demanding an end to the boycott.
The government said the boycott harmed the agricultural sector and small farmers who supply milk, which amount to an estimated population of 600,000.
In a message sent on Tuesday to "Moroccan consumers" on Facebook, Lamblin said he wanted to "listen" and "understand" the message conveyed through this movement.
Analysts say the protest revealed the difficult living conditions of Moroccan people, as well as the public dissatisfaction toward big businesses.
An official survey released in April showed 29.8 percent of households in Morocco are living in deficits, and 64.8 percent barely make both ends meet, while only 5.4 percent have surpluses.
In addition, the Moroccans tend to think that the large companies, represented by the three brands boycotted by the public, have monopolized the market and squeezed the income of smaller companies for profits.
