Farmers’ Strike Continues, Roads Unblocked

Farmers protesting in Pancevo, May 18 2023 (BETAPHOTO/AMIR HAMZAGIC)

Mileta Slankamenovic, the chairman of the Initiative for the Survival of Serbia’s Farmers, said on Nov. 22 that the protesters’ talk with Prime Minister Ana Brnabic did not result in any definitive agreement regarding their demands but rather that suggestions were made, with the final decision now left to the associations involved in the road blockades.

Speaking for BETA, Slankamenovic stated that the negotiations held on Nov. 21 in the Government Headquarters will continue in the town of Kisac on Nov. 26, when both parties are expected to reach an understanding.

The farmers, who spent nine days obstructing dozens of roads and highways in and around Novi Sad, including the local oil refinery, halted the blockade on Nov. 22. While their tractors remain parked along the roadways, the protesters’ have promised no further blocks will happen until the negotiations have concluded.

One of the farmers’ key demands was a partial waiver of the diesel excise tax for fuel purchased at gas stations, which the government granted by reducing said tax from RSD64.23 to RSD14.23 per liter.

The protesters’ other main demand is the introduction of futures trading and a commodity exchange, while the remaining requests pertain to higher subsidies per hectare and greater premiums in animal husbandry.