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Support is fading for the boycott, at least among some retailers in the Middle East, though Arla officials remain cautious. Trade Arabia:

An Arla Foods statement said shops in Bahrain, Qatar, Lebanon, the UAE and also a couple in Saudi Arabia were beginning to put its butter and cheese back on the shelves.

'So far only relatively few customers have chosen to lift the boycott, but we've had positive signals from others and we're hopeful that one of the large chains will decide to list our products again,' said Arla Foods executive director Finn Hansen.

'This could well create a chain reaction.'

But while the company's staff in the Middle East remain cautiously optimistic, Hansen warned against expecting an early recovery.

'While we may be seeing a slow lifting of the boycott by retailers, it remains to be seen whether consumers will, in fact, buy our products,' he added.

So keep buying that Havarti and those butter cookies. Not to mention the Carlsberg.

For continued Hitchens site visitors, pix of the Chicago PRO-DENMARK rally here and here.