Livestock farmer unions held roadblocks near warehouses of several supermarket chains in Gyal, Alsonemedi and Budaors (just outside of Budapest) in the morning and early afternoon hours on Friday.
Deputy chairman of the dairy product council Miklos Istvanfalvi said they were demanding that chains like Tesco and Penny Market guarantee that 80 percent of products on their shelves be Hungarian-made, that they keep to payment deadlines and stop using their economic hegemony unfairly.
Head of the poultry council Laszlo Takacs told MTI that multinational companies often reclaim as much as 40-45 percent of farmgate payments as various fees and service charges, which seemed unfair.
The head of a meat farmers’ group, Ervin Remeny, said the reason why hog farming was on the wane was that the outlets were not guaranteeing equal and fair competition.
Agriculture association MOSZ proposed that the government call a meeting of producer, vendor and consumer representatives to discuss problems.
Representatives of Tesco and Penny Market said that they did give preference to Hungarian meat and dairy products, which already came close to accounting for 80 percent of shelf items. They added that they were open to talks with farmers.