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Status: December 8, 2020 4:15 pm
Farmers have achieved partial success with the blockade of eight central Aldi warehouses in Lower Saxony – the discount store is ready to talk. Then the tractors were also retired.
Fair producer prices for agricultural products – that is the goal that many farmers protested yesterday and today with their tractors. What had already worked with Lidl last week, farmers have now repeated with competitor Aldi: on Monday night they drove their tractors to the central warehouse and blocked access routes for trucks. In Lingen alone, around 50 trucks ready for delivery could not leave. Aldi then relented on Tuesday and agreed to hold talks on Friday. When the farmers had this in writing that morning, they re-cleared the access routes to the camps.
Aldi Süd is also on the table
“We will hold the talks personally and together with representatives of Aldi Süd,” the group said. Among other things, an exchange with representatives of “Land Creates Connection”, commercial companies and the German Federal Food Trade Association is scheduled for Friday. When asked if it was actually about higher prices, an Aldi spokeswoman said: She doesn’t want to anticipate the talks.
Farmers make proposals to trade
It is important for farmers that aid reaches the farms in need quickly, said the spokesperson for the “Land Creates Connection”. Friday’s conversation is expected to provide concrete suggestions on how things will go in the short and long term. Farmers have some ideas for this: There is talk of a price surcharge for agricultural products that should end up on farms without deductions, reports NDR 1 Lower Saxony. Another idea is that half of the retail price of meat or milk goes directly to farmers. Farmers have been making proposals for years, but the trade has yet to respond.
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I expected discussions on an equal footing
Schapen’s Matthias Everinghoff participated in the lockdown campaign in Lingen. The farmer now expects discussions at eye level. “We hope that the commercial relations between Aldi and the farmers will be more fair.” The price of pork has dropped from 2 euros per kilo for the producer to 1.19 euros since the beginning of the year. At the same time, the price in stores has risen, so there is a greater margin for slaughterhouses and retailers. “These are things that don’t work in any way,” Everinghoff said. “Now we just have to find new ways.” Many farmers fear that discount chains will keep holding farmers back so as not to jeopardize the Christmas business.
Blockades also in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate
In Lower Saxony, farmers had Aldi warehouses in Lingen (Emsland district), Seevetal (Harburg district), Hesel (Leer district), Beverstedt (Cuxhaven district), Weyhe (Diepholz district), Hedemünden (Göttingen district ), Lehrte (Hannover region) and Rinteln (Schaumburg district) blocked. There were other campaigns in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate.
The videoconference with the Minister of Agriculture was inconclusive
On Monday, a video conference with representatives of the parties to the conflict and Lower Saxony’s Agriculture Minister Barbara Otte-Kinast (CDU) ended without success. There will be another conference in four weeks. Farmers criticized that no promises had been made to them to help in the current crisis and no real prospects for the future. The atmosphere was at least constructive and the willingness to dialogue among all those involved was noted, said the working group on rural agriculture and the alliance “Land creates connection” after the virtual meeting.
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