French food group Danone said its quarterly sales fell due to weak demand for baby foods in China.

On Wednesday April 17, Danone, recovering from the slow start of the year, said it expects sales to accelerate after failures in China and Morocco. The world's largest yogurt producer said it was confident that it would achieve its financial goals for 2019 and 2020, even after sales in the first quarter fell due to lower demand for baby foods in China and a boycott of consumers in Morocco.

Danone reported that core sales in the first three months of the year rose 0.8% to € 6.14 billion (£ 5.32 billion), compared with a 2.4% increase in the fourth quarter of 2018. Danone shares fell 1.6% as of April 17, 2009.

Danone’s food products for the smallest in China fell by about 15%, partly due to a decline in the country's birth rate and a high comparable rate last year.

This drop in sales in the first quarter of this year occurred after a decrease of 10% in the fourth quarter of 2018 and by 20% in the third quarter. For Danone, China is an important source of growth, providing about 30% of the sales of the Early Life line, which produces infant formula and baby food products.