While Delegate-Minister for General Affairs and Governance Lahcen Daoudi warned against the negative consequences of the viral boycott, government spokesperson Mustapha El Khalfi defended one of the three companies affected by the viral campaign. Delegate-Minister for Relations with Parliament and civil society and government spokesperson Mustapha El Khalfi said Thursday in a press conference held in Rabat that the government is taking note of the boycott campaign targeting three products, says MAP news agency. He explained that the viral campaign has been at the heart of the government's weekly meeting. El Khalfi stressed that the boycott's economic consequences have been thoroughly studied during the same meeting. The profit margin for Central Danone on milk is limited to 0,20 Dirham for a one-liter bottle which is the equivalent of 3% of the total retail price, argued the minister, adding that prices have not been increased since 2013. Fallacious allegations El Khalfi did not stop there, but continued accusing boycotters of spreading «fallacious allegations» that could cause «significant losses for the farmers and the national economy». «Spreading fallacious allegations is illegal and has nothing to do with freedom of speech», he stated, adding that the government will work on reviewing the current law. On the other hand, Delegate-Minister for General Affairs and Governance Lahcen Daoudi warned against the consequences of the boycott, when answering an oral question at the House of Representatives Tuesday. «It is not about the impact the boycott can have but also because of the fear of having one of the three companies close its doors». Following the same path as El Khalfi's, Daoudi explained that the firm (Central Danone) represents 50% of the national milk production, employs 6,000 people and 120,000 farmers. «They are foreigners and they can leave the country at any time, and that is a problem», he said, referring to the same company owned by Danone, a French multinational food-products corporation based in Paris and founded in Barcelona, Spain.
