From jam to jeans, Indians’ boycott of Turkish goods grows
Some 13 million family-run grocery stores plus fashion websites Myntra and AJIO have joined the boycott over Turkey’s support for Pakistan
Small Indian shops and major online fashion retailers are boycotting Turkish products ranging from chocolates and coffee to jams, cosmetics and clothing amid growing anger at Turkey’s support for Pakistan in a confrontation with India.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan publicly expressed solidarity with Pakistan, another majority-Muslim country, earlier this month after India had conducted military strikes in response to an attack in Indian Kashmir by Islamist assailants. Cross-border fighting continued for four days before a ceasefire was declared.
On Monday, the All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF), which supplies 13 million family-run grocery stores, said it was launching an “indefinite and total boycott” of all Turkish-origin goods, which would affect chocolates, wafers, jams, biscuits and skincare products.
Indian fashion websites owned by Walmart-backed Flipkart and billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance have removed numerous Turkish apparel brands, according to three sources and a review of their websites.
Flipkart’s fashion website Myntra removed listings of Turkish brands including Trendyol, known for women’s clothing, street and casual wear brand LC Waikiki and jeans producer Mavi, said one source with direct knowledge.
Myntra removed the brands “in the national interest” without Walmart’s involvement, a second source with direct knowledge said.
Reliance’s fashion website AJIO also removed Turkish brands including Trendyol, Koton, LC Waikiki from its app, and many of those listings were shown as out of stock on Monday. A source cited “national sentiments” as a reason.
Flipkart, Reliance Retail and the Turkish brands Trendyol, LC Waikiki, Koton and Mavi did not respond to requests for comment.
India has not ordered companies to boycott Turkey, and India’s annual US$2.7 billion in goods imports from Turkey are dominated by mineral fuels and precious metals. But a consumer boycott could still be significant.
AICPDF said its ban would affect around 20 billion rupees (US$234 million) of food products. Apparel imports were worth US$81 million last year, according to the Trading Economics reference website.
Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, one of India’s biggest apple-growing states, said on Monday he would ask for a ban on apple imports from Turkey, which were worth around US$60 million last year.
Last week Flipkart said it was suspending flight, hotel and holiday package bookings to Turkey “in solidarity with India’s national interest and sovereignty”. Indians have been cancelling holidays to Turkey and New Delhi has cancelled the security clearance of the Turkish-based aviation ground handling firm Celebi.
Meanwhile, Air India has reportedly been lobbying Indian officials to disallow rival IndiGo’s leasing tie-up with Turkish Airlines, citing business impact as well as security concerns sparked by Ankara’s support for Pakistan.
