Thousands of European farmers demanding fair prices for food
About 15,000 farmers and 6,000 tractors took in Brussels and Santiago de Compostela (Spain) to demand fair prices in the food chain. The protesters demanded once more “responsibility” to the industry and distribution, guilty in his opinion, to sink the price of products such as milk, meat or fruit and vegetables. The European Commission has pledged an aid package to ease the crisis between dairy farmers.
Thousands of farmers demonstrated in Europe to demand fair prices for their products. The demonstrations, jointly convened by the main European professional agricultural organizations, collected despair and discomfort of a sector that sees “fear” as industry, distribution and institutions are “orchestrating his demise.”
The Committee of Agricultural Organizations and European Cooperatives (Copa-Cogeca) expressed his appreciation to the aid package presented by the European Commission, but said it is “still far” from being able to help European farmers.
The secretary general of the Union of Small Farmers and Ranchers (UPA), which participated with a delegation of Spanish producers in the march in Brussels, described as “mere decoy” package of measures announced yesterday by the European Commission following the Council extraordinary Agriculture Ministers of the EU, held under tight security measures to deter protesters from the meeting.
“Of the 900 million euro fine for the milk super-levy paid by farmers, the Commission announces us now valued at 500 million plan”, have criticized from UPA, “the balance remains negative for the sector”. The organization explained that the plan lacks concrete and urgent to curb the price crisis that is ruining farmers, as the rising prices of intervention measures, “completely obsolete” because it does not take into account production costs .
“The other measures are just a list of good intentions,” they say. “The budget increase for promotion, advancement of up to 70% of the CAP or the efforts to open new markets are positive steps, but did not immediately act on prices.”
Totally inadequate aid
The president of the Spanish dairy interbranch (INLAC) responsible for this sector ASAJA, Ramón Artime, considered “totally inadequate” the proposal from the European Commission, in its opinion, does not solve problems. Artime claims that the amount that Brussels offers to all European countries not compensate the losses accumulated by the sector in recent months.
COAG, another Spanish organization, stated that the measures do not address the main demands of thousands of Spanish and European livestock: rising prices and government intervention or regulation measures and food production chain, and Community preference.
Direct aid may serve to alleviate the plight of farmers but new regulatory measures to rebalance the market, “not just be bread today, could become more hunger for tomorrow”, according to COAG.
