The boycott of US and UK products is still around

The movement boycotting American and British goods since the start of the Palestinian “intifadha” due to the two countries’ dual-faced stance vis-a-vis the Arabs (in general and Palestinian in particular) and Israel is still strong. The movement has decreased somewhat since Iraq and not because of it – but I think really because of exasperation and the feeling that this boycott (the US revenue from exports to the Arab world is somewhere around 3% of the total US exports to the world) is not achieving anything.

That doesn’t stop some entrepreneurs capitalizing on the Arab sentimentalities however, Mecca Cola has just announced bottling plants in the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait and I’m sure that they will be successful. Especially now that Coca Cola has closed its Middle East offices in Bahrain and moved to Greece. And Mecca Cola is contributing things back, which makes it even more of an attractive replacement to Coca Cola and Pepsi, and it is seen as a viable challenge:

Having finally reached the Middle East, the promoters expect the brand to fulfill its true potential in the shortest possible time. Part of the brand’s offensive is to donate 10 per cent of the proceeds to local charities and another 10 per cent to meet the needs of Palestinian children.

Gulf News