The Hindu : Coke, Pepsi disappear from Kerala shops

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 12, 2003

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National

Coke, Pepsi disappear from Kerala shops

By K.P.M. Basheer

KOCHI APRIL 11. Outraged by the U.S.-U.K. aggression on Iraq, Kerala's CPI (M) and Left-leaning NGOs are leading a `boycott- American- and- British- goods' campaign that is picking up momentum by the day.

As bombs and missiles continue to pound Iraq, soaps and soft drinks produced by American and British multinationals are disappearing from the shops.

Soft drinks made by Coca-Cola and Pepsi and the soaps made by Hindustan Lever are the targets.

Already, traders and shop-keepers have reported significant fall in the sale of all brands of colas and drinking water produced by Coke and Pepsi. There has also been a slight fall in the off-take of the several brands of soaps produced by Hindustan Lever, the Indian wing of the British multinational UniLever.

``Kerala will be a cola-free State by April 13,'' Thomas Issac, convenor of the Anti-War Forum which spearheads the boycott movement, told The Hindu. Dr. Issac, an economist and CPI (M) MLA, who was one of the key figures of the People's Planning Movement of the former Nayanar Government, claims that the boycott is already a ``resounding success''. The campaign is more effective in the Malabar region than in South Kerala.

However, traders and shopkeepers are not happy. They point out that two such boycotts in the past, actively participated by them, had not succeeded. The first was the traders' boycott of Hindustan Lever goods to press for a higher profit margin and the other was the anti-palmolein campaign.

People's support

The Anti-War Forum is not just a Left affair; even Gandhian groups and Left-extremists have chipped in. Dr. Issac claims that it is a broad platform for 250 organisations. Because of the strong anti-war sentiments raging in the State, the campaign has the sympathies of a sizable chunk of the population. Keralites have been outraged by the aggression on Iraq and anti-war protests are now routine.

Added to this is the fact that Kerala is very Gulf-sensitive as its economy is heavily dependent on the money sent in by the non-resident Keralites from the Gulf countries. Traders have been served notice by the boycott campaigners to get rid of their Coke-Pepsi-Lever stocks by April 13, and hence many of them are either not making fresh orders or are drastically cutting down their orders.

Traders and shopkeepers, particularly the small ones, are nervous about the deadline. They apprehend violence. Earlier this week, activists of an extreme-Left outfit had raided Coke godowns in Kozhikode district.

Dr. Issac said that `to start with' the campaign had picked on Coke-Pepsi-Lever products. This would be broadened later.

``In this protest Kerala will be the most successful place in the world,'' Dr. Issac adds. He is currently on a tour to northern Kerala, addressing a number of meetings and urging people to boycott American-British products.

The Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samiti, said to be the largest traders' union in the country, has opposed the boycott call. U. Abdurahiman, Kozhikode district general-secretary of the KVVES, told The Hindu that his organisation was ``100 per cent'' against the war on Iraq. But, it did not support the ``CPI (M)-led boycott.''

One reason for this was that the Nayanar Government had torpedoed a State-level traders' agitation against the Hindustan Lever, three years back, seeking a higher rate of profit on Lever products.

At the time, he pointed out, the Government had opened a string of `Neethi stores' to sell Lever products.

Again, the CPI (M) had not supported the KVVES-sponsored boycott of palmolein imported from Malaysia. Mr. Abdurahiman alleged that the Nayanar Government had given in to a Malaysian Government offer to building a few kilometres of roads in Kerala free of cost and let the anti-palmolein agitation down.

The Ernakulam Merchants Union feels that the boycott will have long-term negative impact on the State.

Its president, P.U. Jose, told this correspondent that if the U.S. retaliated by boycotting Kerala seafood and other exports, the State would be in a bad shape.

However, he said, it was okay to call upon the people to keep off U.S.-U.K. products, but the boycott should not be imposed on the consumers and traders.

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