CAIROLONDON, Aug 15 Reuters Egyptian Mohannad Abdelazeem, 35, doesn39;t drink alcohol. But he does consume three or four cans per day of Moussy and Fayrouz alcoholfree beers.

Brewers including Carlsberg and AnheuserBusch InBev say interest is growing in such boozefree brews across the Middle East and North Africa, presenting opportunities in a region with some of the lowest alcohol consumption rates globally.

Reuters spoke to eight Egyptian consumers, shopkeepers or cafe owners including Abdelazeem who said they or their customers have recently switched to nonalcoholic beers, ditching U.S. soft drinks brands like Pepsi and CocaCola because they see them as supportive of Israel following its bombardment of Palestine.

PepsiCo, which acquired Israelbased SodaStream in 2018, and CocaCola did not respond to a request for comment.

There is also a broader shift in consumer tastes underway, some executives say.

AB InBev has seen demand for zeroalcohol brews rising among locals in some Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, according to Jason Warner, its CEO for Europe and the Middle East. Sales to tourists and expatriates have also grown.

AB InBev launched its flagship alcoholfree beer Corona Cero in Saudi Arabia in the first quarter. Announcing the planned launch in September 2023, Brian Perkins, AB InBev39;s head of Western Europe, said Corona Cero offered new frontiers of growth and brand building in expansion markets.

Abdelazeem, a genetics researcher,…