Protest in Front of Prime Ministry Ends: Farmers' Protest Will Continue at the Ministry of Agriculture

On the 10th day of the Livestock Breeders and Breeders Association's protest, which started with demands to determine the cost of one liter of milk, reduce input costs, and revoke the decision on imported meat, the Board of Directors of the Union held a press release after a meeting at the Union headquarters and later in front of the Prime Ministry.

Following the meeting of the Union's Board of Directors at the Union building at 12:00 today, the executives went to the Prime Ministry, where Naimoğulları announced the decisions they made and the course of action they would follow.

Referring to the Agriculture Minister's statement that "agreement has been reached on some issues" after the meeting at the Ministry of Agriculture yesterday, Naimoğulları stated that the guarantee desired by the livestock sector regarding imported meat was not provided, and the problem with raw milk prices was not resolved.

Naimoğulları stated that the Minister informed them today that 20 tons and 881 kilograms of meat would be imported this week and responded to questions about how much and where it would be sold, saying that "42 tons of lamb meat and 5 tons of minced meat would be brought and sold in markets." He also emphasized that no guarantee was given if the price of lamb meat decreased after the meat arrived and clarified that 42 tons of lamb meat corresponded to nearly 2,000 lambs, which would put farmers in a difficult situation.

Expressing his reaction to the Prime Minister's statement that "he wants to bring cheap meat to citizens and what the farmers are doing is not asking for their rights," Naimoğulları stated that it is necessary to ensure that farmers reduce their costs and produce at more affordable prices.

Regarding raw milk prices, Naimoğulları explained that while 1.65 kilograms of feed could be purchased with 1 liter of milk on January 15, it has now dropped to 1.48 kilograms.

Stating that they should have gone to the Ministry of Agriculture from the first day, Naimoğulları announced that they would pull their vehicles from in front of the Prime Ministry today and continue the protest in front of the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources from tomorrow.

Using the phrase "the protest will continue in front of the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources in the harshest manner," Mustafa Naimoğulları emphasized that farmers do not engage in politics, they only seek their rights, and they will not avoid negotiation. He also stated that farmers no longer trust Minister of Agriculture Hüseyin Çavuş and called on Prime Minister Üstel to make efforts to solve the problem.

Naimoğulları also criticized Minister of Public Works and Transportation Erhan Arıklı, stating that Arıklı had insulted farmers for days, calling them "animals," and then apologized, saying, "We do not accept this apology. Farmers do not forgive this."

After Naimoğulları's statement, farmers withdrew their vehicles. At that moment, Municipal teams started to clean the protest area.