Farmers give away 12 tons of potatoes in center city Thessaloniki

Page last updated at 12:31 GMT, Sunday, February 5, 2012 - 17:31 EST

Protesting farmers handed over 12 tons of potatoes to the public on Feb. 4, 2012 in Thessaloniki.

THESSALONIKI - Farmers protesting the low prices they get for their potatoes handed over 12 tons to an eager public in this northern Greek town of Thessaloniki.

Farmers from the northern city of Drama, at Central Macedonia, were doling out six-kilogram potato bags to members of the public in the center of the city, outside the Thessaloniki International Exhibition Center which is currently hosting the 24th Agrotica exhibition. They say they are protesting middlemen who force them to sell their produce at very low prices.

"It costs us 20 cents per kilo to produce and (the wholesalers) offer us 10 to 11 cents, said Nikos Stephanidis," an official with the farmers' association. "It's better to hand them out to the people than to the merchants. People are getting hungry these days," he said, referring to the deepening financial crisis.

They also alleged that some 70 percent of their produce remains unsold while Greece imports potatoes from Egypt.

Farmers had brought 2000 six-kilo bags to hand out, and they were gone in less than an hour. The farmers had to stay vigilant to ensure that no one got more than one bag and, in some instances, had to push back people eager for a second helping.

Some information for this report was provided by Kathimerini, AAP