Farmers from the “Stiga” association will not continue their tractor protest blocking traffic in Požarevac, as the Ministry of Agriculture promised that Minister Dragan Glamočić will meet with them on Saturday, June 21, said the association’s president, Nedeljko Savić.
State Secretary Željko Radošević met with the farmers last night but could not offer solutions for their problems, including the low wheat price of 17-18 dinars per kilogram or how to receive subsidies for rented land.
Landowners are refusing to provide the direct subsidy payment of 18,000 dinars per hectare to the farmers, despite regulations stating that subsidies belong to the farmers cultivating the land.
Radošević reiterated that the Ministry issued a public call for subsidies of 17,000 dinars per hectare and initiated a request with the Republic Commodity Reserves to buy a certain amount of wheat to stimulate demand and raise prices.
The Ministry emphasized that the state cannot set wheat prices and noted that new wheat prices never exceed old wheat prices. Prices in neighboring countries like Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Hungary are in a similar range.
The Republic Commodity Reserves will purchase wheat quantities “according to their capabilities.”
Farmers requested a meeting with Minister Glamočić a month ago; it was scheduled for last week but postponed, prompting yesterday’s tractor blockade protest.
