Cartoon boycott hurts exports

Exports to Muslim countries fell by more than 11% last year after a boycott of Danish goods to protest the publication of cartoons of the prophet Muhammad, the government said.

Dairy products, dominated by the Scandinavian Arla Foods group, were worst hit, with exports dropping 39%, to $196 million, Statistics Denmark said.

The boycott started in Saudi Arabia and spread to other Arab countries. In September 2005, a Danish newspaper published 12 cartoons that enraged Muslims; one of them showed Muhammad wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a burning fuse.