Around a hundred breeders from the Blagoevgrad region started a protest on the main motorway E-79 close to Simitli on Wednesday.
They expressed their disagreement with the low farm-gate milk prices, currently around 50 stotinki per litre, reported the Bulgarian National Television. Fruit and vegetable producers also joined the action.
Two people have been arrested during an unsuccessful attempt to halt traffic on the E-79 motorway.
One of the demands of the protesters is for the government to tighten controls over imports of dairy products. They also addressed the issue of the slowed-down payments by State Fund Agriculture. The minimal sums are to be distributed to the animal breeders by the end of April.
Another problem seems to be the highly bureaucratic and rigid EU funding application process.
Additionally, a demand was posed to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food regarding the faster vaccination procedure against bluetongue disease. Over 2,000 animals have died in the Blagoevgrad region because of it.
Meanwhile, BGN 4,6 M have been allocated to the vaccination procedure, as stated by minister Desislava Taneva, and reported by the Bulgarian National Radio. It will start in the spring and will be administered by the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency.