By Terje Solsvik
OSLO (Reuters) -Mondelez International, facing a widening corporate boycott in the Nordic region over its presence in Russia will meet with Norwegian government representatives this week in the hope of protecting the group's local business.
Airlines SAS and Norwegian Air, railway group SJ, hotel chain Strawberry, retailer Elkjop, shipping group Fjord Line and the Norwegian Football Association were among those announcing in recent days that they would stop selling Mondelez (NASDAQ:MDLZ) products.
The global snack maker, producer of Oreo, Toblerone and dozens of other brands, has a strong presence in Norway and Sweden via its local chocolate manufacturers Freia and Marabou.
The Norwegian foreign ministry said on Monday it planned to meet with companies on both sides of the boycott, but stopped short of recommending a solution.
"It's up to companies and individuals to make independent choices regarding what to buy and whom to trade with," State Secretary Erling Rimestad said in a statement.
Although some Western companies sold their Russian assets after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year, others such as Mondelez have stayed despite pushback from employees in other countries. Russia says the invasion is a "special operation".
Nordic companies said their decision stop selling Mondelez products was based on an announcement this year by Ukraine's National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption to blacklist the snack maker and other groups.
Coop Norge, Norway's second biggest food retailer, said on Saturday that it would seek advice from the Norwegian government before making any decisions.
Chicago-based Mondelez in a statement said it did not sell Russian-made products in Norway and that official guidelines should be based on objective criteria that treat companies equally.
Mondelez said it maintained "limited" activity in Russia while halting investment and advertising, and had condemned the war.
"Mondelez International complies with all political decisions and sanctions and will continue to consider necessary adjustments to operations in order to ensure full compliance," it added.