Bulgarian Farmers Trash Produce, Block Road to Greece

Some 300 fruit and vegetable producers from Bulgaria's south-west have come out in protest Saturday against low wholesale prices of their produce.

The farmers, predominantly from the region of Petrich and Sandanski in Bulgaria's Blagoevgrad region, demonstratively littered the main E-79 road with their produce.

Photo by BGNES

They also blocked traffic symbolically for 10 minutes.

Farmers requested urgent meetings with Bulgaria's President Rosen Plevneliev and representatives of the ministries of agriculture and finance.

"We are forced to sell out our produce for BGN 0.4 per kilo," complained a protester.

This type of protest has become chronic in Bulgaria, where the marked of agricultural produce is dominated by potent re-sellers.

Saturday protesters requested better state subsidies and more regulation on the import of vegetables from countries that are not EU member states.

Adapted from novinite.com