Farmers Continue Protest by Blocking Roads

Farmers Continue Protest, November 17 2023 (BETAPHOTO/DRAGAN GOJIC)

The farmers who have been protesting in Vojvodina for the past five days on Nov. 17 continued to block dozens of roads and the refinery in Novi Sad, and announced a blockade of the Kac junction, which connects to the Belgrade - Novi Sad highway.

President of the Initiative for the Survival of Farmers of Serbia association Goran Filipovic told BETA that the farmers were not giving up on their demand to buy excise-free diesel fuel instead of paying the full price for it, and that they were waiting to be given back 50 dinars per liter on the grounds of that tax.

Reacting to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's statement from Nov. 16 that it was "disgusting" that farmers "want to blackmail me before elections," Filipovic said that "we do not believe in the (authorities') promise that they will give us back 50 dinars on account of the excise tax, which is not 50 dinars but rather 64.23 dinars."

He added that this was similar to how "they had promised subsidies which we were to get for the spring sowing, and we got them in September."

Filipovic also said the farmers would continue to block the refinery in Novi Sad and roads until the authorities met all their demands, including an increase in subsidies per hectare from 18,000 to 35,000 dinars in 2024, regulation of the commodities exchange, and the possibility of credit refinancing.