Tsiaras: Farmers' key demands have been already addressed

The government has already taken specific and measurable steps to provide support during a particularly difficult period for the primary sector, stated Rural Development and Food Minister Kostas Tsiaras on Monday, while also emphasising the need for substantive and sincere dialogue with the farming community.

As he noted, “dialogue is proof of responsibility, not concession,” adding, among other things, that mobilisations and problems in transportation—especially during the holiday period—“do injustice even to the farmers themselves,” as they create serious repercussions in citizens’ daily lives.

Tsiaras said that key demands of the farmers that could serve as common ground for agreement have already been addressed.

Specifically, regarding agricultural electricity, the Minister of Rural Development stated that the maximum possible intervention has been made and that “we will come quite close to the farmers’ demand, within the framework of PPC's capabilities and the existing commitments regarding electricity prices.”

Speaking about agricultural diesel, he stressed that the government intends to proceed with a refund of the Special Consumption Tax on agricultural diesel directly at the pump, covering a long-standing demand of the farming community.

He also underlined the government’s intention to boost agricultural income through the reallocation of resources saved following audits carried out by the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (IAPR) and OPEKEPE. As he noted, the available European funds amount to at least 160 million euros, money that can be directed to crops and products facing acute problems.

As for demands related to minimum guaranteed prices or the abolition of the energy exchange, he made it clear that these cannot be satisfied, as they “run counter to European reality.”