Palestinians turn to local soda in boycott of Israel-linked goods

In a red box factory that stands out among the drab hills of the West Bank, Chat Cola's employees race to quench Palestinians' thirst for local products since the Gaza war erupted last year.

With packaging reminiscent of Coca-Cola's iconic red and white aluminium cans, Chat Cola has tapped into Palestinians' desire to shun brands perceived as too supportive of Israel.

"The demand for (Chat Cola) increased since the war began because of the boycott," owner Fahed Arar, told AFP at the factory in the occupied West Bank town of Salfit.

Julien, a restaurateur in the city of Ramallah further south, said he has stocked his classic red Coca-Cola branded fridge with the local alternative since the war began in October last year.

Supermarket manager Mahmud Sidr described how sales of Palestinian products surged over the past year.

"We noticed an increase in sales of Arab and Palestinian products that do not support (Israel)," he said.

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Although it does not supply Israeli troops in Gaza with free goods -- as some US fast food brands have been rumoured to -- Coca-Cola is perceived as simply too American.

The United States provides enormous military assistance to Israel, aid that has continued through the devastating military campaign in Gaza that Israel launched in response to Hamas's unprecedented attack of October 7, 2023.

Coca-Cola did not respond to a request for comment, but it says the company does not support religion nor "any political causes, governments or nation states".

A manager of the National Beverage Company, the Palestinian firm bottling Coca-Cola in the Palestinian territories, told AFP the company had not noticed the return of many products from local stores.

There was however a decline of up to 80 percent in the drink's sales to foreign-named chains, said the manager, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Not just cola

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"The national boycott movement has had a big impact," Arar said.

Ibrahim al-Qadi, head of the Palestinian economy ministry's consumer protection department, told AFP that 300 tonnes of Israeli products were destroyed over the past three months after passing their sell-by date for want of buyers.

The Palestinian economy's dependence on Israeli products has made a broader boycott difficult and Chat Cola's popularity partly stems from being one of the few quality Palestinian alternatives.

"There's a willingness to boycott if the Palestinian producers can produce equivalently good quality and price," the head of the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute, Raja Khalidi, told AFP.

Khalidi said the desire for Palestinian substitutes has grown sharply since the war in Gaza began, but is stifled by "an issue of production capacity which we lack".

A boycott campaign has been more successful in neighbouring Arab states less dependent on Israeli goods.

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In neighbouring Jordan, the franchisee of French retail giant Carrefour, Dubai-based conglomerate Majid Al Futtaim Group announced it was shutting down all its operations after activists called for a boycott.

'Palestinian taste'

Chat Cola's Arar is proud of developing a quality Palestinian product.

Staff at the company's Salfit factory wear sweaters emblazoned with the words "Palestinian taste" in Arabic and the Palestinian flag.

After opening the factory in 2019, Arar plans to open a new one in Jordan to meet international demand and avoid the complications of operating in the occupied West Bank.

Although the plant still turns out thousands of cans of Chat, one production line has been shut down for more than a month.

Israeli authorities have held up a large shipment of raw materials at the Jordanian border, hitting output, Arar said, adding he can meet only 10 to 15 percent of demand for his product.

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As Arar spoke, Israeli air defences intercepted a rocket likely launched from Lebanon, creating a small cloud in view of the plant.

But with war have come opportunities.

"There has never been the political support for buying local that there is now, so it's a good moment for other entrepreneurs to start up," economist Khalidi said.

Source: AFP