March 2, 2007

Polish farmers protest against low pork price
 

About 500 farmers protested on March 1 against low pork livestock prices and to agriculture minister Andrzej Lepper outside the parliament building in Warsaw, the Polish PAP news agency reported.

The protesters said the pork prices are below the production costs and they blamed agriculture minister Lepper for not doing anything about the situation on the pork market.

Poland's current pork livestock price oscillates between 2.8 and 3 zlotys (0.9-1.01 U.S. dollar per kilo).

The Polish government had promised to buy 80,000 tonnes of pork but in fact purchased only 18,000 tonnes.

Slawomir Izdebski with the All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions (OPZZ) said Lepper should have tried to solve the problem by suggesting pork buyups and export subsidies to the EU.

The farmers also appealed to the parliament speaker for help in combating the pig virus Aujeszky's disease (pseudorabies) which hampers sales of Polish pork to western Europe.