In France, farmers doused the prefecture building with liquid manure

Screenshot from www.reuters.com

Many farmers are struggling financially and feel their operations are under threat due to pressure from the retail sector, which is trying to bring down prices after a period of high inflation.

“Our costs continue to rise, but this does not affect our income in any way,” the publication quotes milk producer Pascal Le Guerne as saying.

In addition, livestock farmers are unhappy with the state tax on tractor fuel, problems with water supply, cheap imports and environmental regulations.

“The reality is that most farmers are unable to support themselves from the products they produce,” said Austrian Green Party lawmaker and beekeeper Thomas Weitz. He also noted that as the EU Green Deal is implemented, the financial and labor costs of farmers should be offset by product prices, and called on EU countries to ensure that imported goods meet high environmental standards to avoid unfair competition.

Fearing the fallout from farm unrest in Germany, Poland and Romania, the French government has already delayed the adoption of an agricultural bill and said it would tighten some measures and loosen some rules.

The poultry and dairy sectors are reported to be feeling the most pressure. The first suffers from the supply of cheap poultry from Ukraine, and the activities of the second were undermined by the government's anti-inflationary measures, which violated the mechanisms for protecting purchase prices in the industry.