The Lithuanian Agricultural Council (LŽŪT) noted that on 23 January more than 5,000 farmers with around 1,300 tractors descended on Vilnius. According to the organisation, the rally was caused by the reluctance of politicians and bureaucrats to listen to farmers, and by unfavourable decisions in the agricultural sector.
“We protested so that the actions harming the agricultural and forestry sectors would be immediately stopped. (&) We had not raised political demands. (&) We focused on solving main issues, which, if left unsolved, would lead to further demise of Lithuania’s agriculture without future prospects,” the Agricultural Council stated.
According to the organisation, politicians admitted their mistakes and it was agreed that they would be rectified. It vowed to monitor closely how the government would meet its promises. However, the council says that messages coming from the European Commission and those from individuals at the Ministry of Agriculture differ radically.
According to the council, protesting farmers demanded that excise duty on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) would not be greater than in neighbouring countries. However, even if excise duty on LPG is reduced from EUR 304 to EUR 41 per tonne, it would still by greater than in Latvia and Poland.
Moreover, the organisation said it was still unclear what would be done with new restrictions on economic activities in agricultural land. It stressed that the situation in the dairy sector has not been addressed and no solution was offered as concerns the transit of Russian grain.
Taking all of this into account, the Agricultural Council does not rule out that farmers will undertake new protest campaigns. The organisation said it would announce specific steps later.
