Food prices: Angry French farmers block town

CAEN: Hundreds of angry French farmers blocked access to the northern town of Caen on Monday, demanding a hike in milk and meat prices. Dairy and beef farmers arrived on the outskirts of the Normandy town on Sunday aboard some 330 tractors and other farm vehicles, according to local officials. Many were armed with buckets full of earth and manure, some of which they dumped in front of businesses. “It’s one of the biggest mobilisations for several years,” said Sebastien Debieu, secretary general of farmers’ union FDSEA. “We will continue the blockage until (Minister of Agriculture Stephane) Le Foll comes to Caen,” he said. Retailers and food industry heads promised to raise prices of meat and dairy after a meeting with farmers last month. But farmers say they have yet to benefit from the price hikes in supermarkets, triggering a wave of strikes across the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 21^st,  2015.

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