Anger is brewing in the Breton agricultural world. On Saturday, breeders blocked access to several hypermarkets in Côtes-d’Armor to demand an increase in prices paid to production. Dozens of tractors positioned on roundabouts and on the dual carriageway of Saint-Brieuc notably prevented access to the Carrefour store in Langueux. “The installation, a kid’s dream that flies away”, could we read on a banner. Inside the store, protesters emptied some shelves of products containing EU-origin pork, filling many trolleys.
Deserted car park on a Saturday at the crossroads of #Language. About forty farmers are blocking access to put pressure on the ongoing trade negotiations. #CoastArmor #Agriculture pic.twitter.com/rigNXacd8j
— France Bleu Armorique (@bleuarmorique) January 29, 2022
“We checked prices and found milk at 62 cents per litre, which means that the breeder cannot be paid. Supermarkets are the gravediggers of livestock farming, ”said Fabienne Garel, president of the FDSEA of Côtes-d’Armor. “We will not let ourselves be pushed around, we will weigh in so that the negotiations accept our cost increases, we will not let ourselves be buried. Just the production cost of a kilo of pork is 1.80 euros, the breeder is paid 1.25 euros and it is sold for 1.65”, she added.
A plan for the pork sector announced on Monday
“The objective is zero turnover because they are crushing us with prices like that. We are told that all prices are increasing in stores, but our prices are not increasing, or even falling, while our costs are exploding, ”added Tristan Delisle, secretary general of Young Farmers. In the afternoon, the director of meat purchases from Carrefour, who went on site, signed a charter of commitment.
The breeders continued their action in front of the Leclerc de Lamballe, where the gendarmes briefly intervened, using tear gas. The prefect of Côtes-d’Armor, who came to meet the demonstrators in Lamballe, indicated that a plan for the pork sector will be announced on Monday, providing in particular for emergency aid and structural aid.