Farmers in Bandirma protest falling prices amid rising costs

Farmers in the Bandirma district of Balikesir gathered to protest against the rising costs of agricultural production and declining prices of their produce. The protest took place in the Aksakal area, where approximately 150-200 tractors were used by hundreds of farmers to express their dissatisfaction.

Farmers suffer losses despite hard work

The farmers assembled and began their demonstration, which concluded peacefully hours later. The farmers voiced their concerns over the significant losses they are experiencing due to low market prices for products such as processing tomatoes, melons, watermelons, and corn.

Suleyman Ozdemir, head of the Bandirma Chamber of Agriculture, highlighted the disparity between production costs and market prices, particularly for processing tomatoes.

He explained that while industrial contracts promised a price of ₺3.75 per kilogram for tomatoes, the open market price has dropped to between ₺1.5 and ₺2 per kilogram, putting producers at a disadvantage.

“The price in the open market should be at least ₺3.25-3.50 per kilogram for producers to break even,” Ozdemir stated. “With current conditions, producers are incurring losses of ₺10,000 to ₺15,000 per decare, especially with lower yields due to high temperatures.”

Similar protests in Bursa

Last week, similar protests took place in the Karacabey and Mustafakemalpasa districts of Bursa. Around 5,000 farmers gathered with 1,000 tractors in response to low prices for their crops, particularly processing tomatoes.

Farmers blocked the Bursa-Balikesir highway, expressing their frustration over the financial strain caused by increased production costs.

Mehmet Aydemir, head of the Mustafakemalpasa Chamber of Agriculture, noted that farmers have been struggling to cover the costs of production for crops like peas, onions, wheat, barley, melons, watermelons, and industrial tomatoes. He emphasized that the low prices have left many farmers in financial distress.

Following the protests, farmers dispersed without incident.