Farmers desperate for financial aid amid high energy prices

Описание: (17 Feb 2022) In Greece's rural heartland, tractors have become a symbol of anxiety for many residents.
For weeks, they have been parked along the country's highways, their owners threatening to block traffic but still undecided on whether to act.
Farmers are desperate for additional financial aid to cope with an energy crisis that's pushing up the price of food, fuel and fertilizer and has posed a sudden threat to their livelihoods
"Last year, fertilizers cost 500 euros per ton. This year, buying fertilizers costs as much as a stremma (a tenth of a hectare) of land, about 1,700 to 1,800 (euros) a ton," said Dimitris Kakalis, a 25-year-old farmer from central Greece, who has joined the protests.
The energy spike and its ripple effects, he says, touch every part of his business on a farm with a vineyard and a peach grove — higher prices gasoline needed for farming machinery, electricity to power irrigation pumps and the price of weed-killer.  
The sting of high energy prices — which is driving decades-high inflation numbers — is being felt across Europe and around the world, piling financial stress on governments, households and businesses.
It's translated to costly utility bills and perhaps even more pressing, rising prices for food as farmers and supermarkets are forced to pass along costs to customers.
Kakalis divides his time between his farm and a nearby roadside protest outside Tyrnavos, a town 380 kilometres (235 miles) north of Athens, renowned in Greece for its production of tsipouro, a potent alcoholic drink made from grape residue.  
He stands in a circle with other men warming their hands over burning scrap wood, the discussion settling on the long-term effects the current price rises are likely to have.  
Experts agree: One study in Germany suggests more than two-thirds of food producers are planning further price increases in the coming months.  
"Unfortunately, we cannot exclude the scenario that food and energy prices will be permanently higher, which means that, you know, it is not just a shock in this year, but also in the coming years," Zsolt Darvas, a senior fellow at the Brussels-based think-tank Bruegel, told the AP.  
Like many other European Union members, Greece has rushed through subsidies, tax cuts and other temporary measures to help households pay electricity bills.
However, the prospects for aid in the longer term are doubtful.
The EU has promised to re-introduce strict budget rules in 2023 after suspending them to allow for emergency spending during the pandemic.  
Frequent swings of extreme weather, pandemic-related disruption to labour and supply chains, and the Ukraine-Russia crisis' impact on energy prices, meanwhile, continue to compound market and consumer anxiety.  
Antonia Kalantzi, a 38-year-old personal trainer, said she had to cut other expenses in order to afford her monthly grocery shop.
"I can see the prices have gone up a lot and I think it is quite difficult compared to what I remember from two years ago," she said.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...