Sour cherry farmers to protest outside Parliament

Hungarian farmers will inundate the Parliament's parking lot on Kossuth tér with sour cherries on Thursday afternoon as a protest against their current situation, reports hirszerzo.hu. They are protesting against being forced to sell cherries for Ft 50-60 (€0.21-0.26) per kilogram by large companies buying the cherries, despite frost resulting in an unusually small yield this year.

Farmers claim the price does not even cover the costs of picking the cherries, while the cost of chemical fertilizer, plant protection products and energy is constantly rising. In addition, only 58-60,000 tons of sour cherry are expected to be harvested this year.

The gathering will begin at 2:30, after which the farmers will give away cherries to those in need in front of the Egészségügyi és Szociális Ágazatban Dolgozók Demokratikus Szakszervezete (EDDSZ, Democratic Trade Union of Healthcare and Social Workers) building in Nádor utca.

Magosz (National Union of Hungarian Farmers) also turned to the Gazdasági Versenyhivatal (Competition Office) because they suspect that purchasers are conspiring to suppress the market price of sour cherries.

The food and vegetable product council, coordinated by the ministry of agriculture, discussed possible solutions on Monday afternoon, but can only play a mediating role as the state cannot intervene.

• Email
• Save to My Caboodle