TOBACCO GROWERS TEMPORARILY BLOCKED TRAFFIC ON THE ROAD TO PASTROGOR, SOUTH BULGARIA

Tobacco growers and stock-breeders from South Bulgaria staged a protest on 2nd of March. About 100 people temporarily blocked the road from Svilengrad to the village of Pastrogor. The farmers expressed dissatisfaction because of decisions of the Consultative Council of the Ministry of Agriculture. According to the tobacco growers, the decisions led to financial damages to them and the national additional payments were distributed unfairly.

Among the protesters there were tobacco growers from the region of Shumen, North Bulgaria. They expressed dissatisfaction with a Greek company which bought their tobacco but did not pay for it. They stated that if they did not get paid by the end of the month, they would stage a protest in front of the company in Greece.

As a sign of protest, the farmers set fire to big bales of tobacco. The protesters remain in readiness to strike.