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As of Friday, beginning in central Greece and in recent hours also in northern Greece, with hundreds of tractors parked on national highways, farmers have begun their protests against rising energy costs, rejecting government support measures and seeking more help to combat rising prices.
The Greek government says it has spent about 1.7 billion euros (on subsidizing energy bills for farmers, households and businesses to help them cope with rising energy prices, the main driver of inflation, which hit record highs of 11 in recent years, going to 5.1% in December, but according to farmers, the increase in fuel and electricity prices has increased production costs by 50%.
KOSTAS TZELAS PRESIDENT OF AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATIONS KARDICA: Therefore we are on the road, because the suburbs will be deserted, the villages will be deserted, people will not be able to cultivate and we will no longer be able to live in our villages.
Although over the weekend the government has provided an additional financial assistance of 170 million euros to the agricultural sector and has reduced some of the taxes in this sector, farmers have considered these measures as ridicule and are asking for further subsidies.
KOSTAS TZELAS PRESIDENT OF AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATIONS KARDICA: We demand essential measures that will provide a real reality, a solution to our problems.
Rising inflation and energy costs have forced Prime Minister Mitsotakis to announce a 13% reduction in real estate tax rates and a 7% increase in the minimum wage for the second time in May.
But all these measures do not seem to satisfy the Greek citizens already on their knees from the increase of up to three times the bills of electricity, gas for heating and fuels, which have also led to an increase in food prices.
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