Bulgarian Producers of Cherries are Protesting

Producers of cherries from Stara Zagora protested against low purchase prices. They have gathered on Stara Zagora road junction on the Trakia highway. The road is not blocked, but as a sign of dissatisfaction, the demonstrators poured a few boxes of fruit on the ground. At noon, all the protesters gathered on the stretch that leads to the nearby Zagora village of Zagore. The road that leads from and to Stara Zagora is guarded by policemen, they regulate the movement. The director of the Regional Police Directorate in Stara Zagora, Commissioner Georgi Hadzhiev, said that the protesters had received only a letter of notification and had no permission for a road blockade.

Among the gathered protesters, most were cherry pickers, and only a dozen are producers. The people are from the villages of Stara Zagora and shared that they mostly picked up the cherries in Nikolaevsko. There are also pickers from Sliven region. The protesters threw a few cherry boxes on the ground and chanted that they wanted higher purchase prices, to work for people they had contracts with and expressed their desire to stay in the country.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture Tsvetan Dimitrov met with the protesters. He explained that he was surprised by the protest that was held near Stara Zagora. According to him, talks with cherry growers have been running in the ministry together with experts for more than a week. He believes people in the protest are misled. The Deputy Minister pointed out that he respected their work and came to listen to them. Dimitrov said that support is only possible if there are losses that are below the cost of production. Last year, such aid was received by the producers whose plantations froze. He recalled that the state was granting a subsidy.