Farmers want ban on import of meat and dairy from EU

Farmers want ban on import of meat and dairy from EU

SABAC -- Several associations of farmers who announced protests for Friday have said they decided to delay them for one week.

The decision came after representatives of farmers, who threatened to block roads, met with government officials and received assurances that "the first three of their demands would be met, and others discussed later."

Association of Agricultural Producers from Sremska Mitrovica President Zlatko Djuric told the Beta agency that the government agreed to "prevent further import of meat, milk, and dairy and meat products from the European Union."

The farmers announced earlier that they wanted this ban to remain in place "until the end of 2015."

The government will also use commodity reserves to urgently buy surplus fatlings and milk from farmers, and will move to change trade rules concerning meat and dairy products - "which was the main reason why junk products showed up on the Serbian market."

Djuric added that his association will on Friday organize "a protest tractor ride" in Sremska Mitrovica, Kuzmin, Ruma, and several other towns in the province of Vojvodina, but that other associations will decide for themselves whether to call off their protests.

Earlier today, a farmers' association from Macva in western Serbia blocked a road in the Bogatic municipality, while others stopped traffic on the regional road Sabac-Loznica.

A large number of police and Gendarmerie SUVs have been deployed to that road.