Spain: farmers protest against low food prices

The movement of farmers wore fluorescent yellow vests for their protests action started on Tuesday. The Spanish agrarians have blocked highways in the southwestern part of the country.

Farmers with tractors and other vehicles are protesting over what they say are plummeting incomes for agricultural workers. The rallies have started Tuesday, predominantly in the Extremadura region that borders Portugal. The farmers demand Pedro Sanchez’s government action to ensure more realistic retail prices for fruit and vegetables.

In its turn, the government understand the hopes and aspirations of the agrarians. Both Cabinet and labour unions blame major supermarket chains for slashing prices on fruit and vegetables and forcing farmers to sell their goods for less.

According to Angel Garcia, head of the regional young farmers association Asaja, about 700 tractors would join the road blockages.

The almost daily protests across Spain against high production costs and low prices for farm produce pose a tough challenge for the country’s month-old Socialist-led coalition government as the European Union plans to cut agricultural subsidies. The protests also come amid tariff threats by the U.S.