The Ministry of Agriculture today assured Lusa that the discount on the price of agricultural diesel, announced last week, is working, rejecting the existence of a lack of commitment, despite having been absorbed by the evolution of international prices.
«The ordinance was published on January 31st and came into force on February 1st […]. Everything is operationalized, published and working», an official source from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food assured Lusa.
However, the same source highlighted that due to the international price of petroleum products, the discount is being absorbed by a rise in prices, and the Government cannot intervene in this matter.
Farmers have been accusing the executive of not implementing the announced reduction in agricultural or green diesel, lamenting the increase they have faced, especially after the latest protests in the sector.
Last week, the Government announced a support package for farmers, with more than 400 million euros in allocation, to mitigate the impact caused by the drought and reinforce the Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan (PEPAC).
This package includes the reduction of the ISP – Tax on Petroleum Products to the minimum permitted level.
At stake is a reduction from 4,7 cents per liter to 2,1, that is, a drop of 55%, which is equivalent to 11 million euros per year.
However, the support was not enough to stop the farmers' protests, who took to the streets, from North to South, with tractors stopped or idling, blocking hundreds of roads.
Farmers, who demand the flexibility of the CAP – Common Agricultural Policy, fair working and competition conditions, the right to adequate food and the valorization of the activity, decided to maintain the scheduled protests, justifying that the support is “a handful of nothing” .
The initiatives are promoted by the Civil Farmers Movement, with the support of agricultural confederations.
Comments