Cattlemen's Protest
Farmers in Girona have once again demonstrated against distribution companies after suffering a new reduction in the price they pay them per liter of milk.
According to the farmers, the price has fallen from 50 to 47 cents, a figure that they consider "below the cost of production", and that, according to them, leads them "to ruin".
The protest was called for eleven o'clock in the morning in front of the Government Sub-Delegation in Girona, but initially it was moved to Ramon Folch Avenue. This happened because the Municipal Police intercepted one of the three trailers loaded with shopping carts from the Mercadona supermarket, which the demonstrators planned to use during the protest.
Non-compliance with the Food Chain Law
After some tense moments and the identification of several participants by the agents, the demonstration returned to the Government Sub-Delegation. Marc Xifra, head of the dairy sector of Unió de Pagesos, commented that Mercadona's decision to lower the price paid per liter of milk had a cascade effect, with other large distributors, such as Bonpreu and Lidl, following the same path. Xifra pointed out that this action contravenes the food chain law, which prohibits paying less than the cost of production, since the 47 cents offered by large distributors do not cover these costs.
In addition, Xifra stressed that this situation affects the generational change, since young people do not see a future in the dairy industry if they cannot earn a living. The price drop, he insists, leads them "to ruin", so he urged the Spanish government to take measures against large distributors to ensure compliance with the law.
Responsibility of Mercadona
In response, the farmers took their protest to the government Sub-delegation on Avenida Jaume I, where they threw several sacks of straw and placed a score of Mercadona shopping carts. The reason is that they consider Juan Roig's company responsible for initiating this reduction in the price of milk, which was then followed by other large distributors.